H.M.S. Revenge
Presented to the Naval Club by the artist
This striking painting once greeted Naval Club members at 38 Hill Street in Mayfair, where it hung in the entrance hall. Charles Pears (1873-1958), one of Britain’s foremost maritime artists, captures Revenge’s impressive scale and imposing strength as she emerges from a storm.
HMS Revenge, lead ship of the R-class, was a sturdy wartime evolution of the Queen Elizabeths – slower but powerfully armed with eight 15-inch guns and known for her steady gunnery platform. She fought at Jutland in 1916, and during World War II she served as a dependable convoy escort from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, deterring raiders and supporting fleet movements. Revenge is the embodiment of the reliable, practical, hard-worked line-of-battle ship.
Pears was the founder and first president of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, and served as Official Naval Artist during both World Wars. He had a remarkable ability to combine technical accuracy with dramatic composition and atmosphere in his naval subjects, as demonstrated in this impressive artwork.