''The Death of Nelson'' is a painting by the American artist

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

dated 1806. In 1770, West painted ''

The Death of General Wolfe ''The Death of General Wolfe'' is a 1770 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West, commemorating the 1759 Battle of Quebec, where General James Wolfe died at the moment of victory. The painting, containing vivid suggestions of martyrdom, ...

''. This was not an accurate representation of the event, but rather an idealisation, and it included people who were not present at the event. Nevertheless, it became very popular, and West painted at least five copies. In 1801, at a dinner party three years after the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

, West met

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

, who told him how much he admired the painting of Wolfe, and asked why he had not produced any more similar paintings. West, who was at the time the President of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, replied that he had found no subject of comparable notability. Nelson then expressed the desire that he would be the subject of West's next similar painting. In 1805, Nelson was killed in the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

and, within six months, West had created this painting. Again it proved to be popular. When West exhibited it in his studio, within just over a month it was seen by 30,000 members of the public. Again it was an idealisation of the subject. Although West took considerable trouble about the accuracy of details in his painting, basing the portraits on over 50 survivors of the battle, he produced, as he admitted himself, a picture "of what might have been, not of the circumstances as they happened". West created two more paintings with Nelson as the subject, ''The Death of Lord Nelson in the Cockpit of the Ship "Victory"'' and ''The Immortality of Nelson'', both of which are in the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

. Other artists produced works depicting the same event. One of these was

Arthur William Devis Arthur William Devis (10 August 1762 – 11 February 1822) was an English painter of history paintings and portraitist, portraits. He painted portraits and historical subjects, sixty-five of which he exhibited (1779–1821) at the Royal Academy. ...

who painted ''

The Death of Nelson, 21 October 1805 ''The Death of Nelson, 21 October 1805'' is an 1807 painting by Arthur William Devis portraying the death of Horatio Nelson at 16:30 on 21 October 1805, below decks on his flagship during the Battle of Trafalgar. It is now in the National Marit ...

'', now also in the National Maritime Museum. Another was '' The Death of Nelson'' by

Daniel Maclise Daniel Maclise (25 January 180625 April 1870) was an Irish history painter, literary and portrait painter, and illustrator, who worked for most of his life in London, England. Early life Maclise was born in Cork, Ireland, the son of Alexan ...

, a large wall painting in the

Royal Gallery The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

. The finished study for this work is owned by the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England, having been bought by the gallery in 1892. West's painting is in

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

and measures by . It was presented to the Walker Art Gallery by Bristow H. Hughes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Death of Nelson, The Paintings by Benjamin West 1805 in Europe 1806 paintings Paintings in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery Paintings about death Naval war paintings Cultural depictions of Horatio Nelson