Dominic Serres, a native of Gascony, arrived in England in around 1745. His good manners and naval experience may account for his successful artistic career, as his training was minimal. He was a founder-member of the Royal Academy. His son John Thomas Serres (1759-1825) succeeded him as Marine Painter to George III. This is the first of four paintings by Serres recording George III’s visit to inspect the British fleet, from 22 to 26 June 1773 (OM 1072-5, 404558-61). The description of the visit in the Annual Register includes mention of ‘a very great number of yachts, and other sailing vessels and boats, many of them full of nobility and gentry’, in attendance. Presumably Serres was on one of these small craft, which are included in his painting. A high viewpoint was the convention in marine painting at this date, and it was not until the later work of Romantic artists, such as de Loutherbourg and Turner, that the viewpoint was lowered. The Annual Register reported that at the time of the visit the King expressed ‘the highest approbation of the good order and discipline of his fleet, the excellent condition of the dock-yard, arsenals, and garrison, . . . and showed the utmost satisfaction at the demonstrations of loyalty and affection with which he was received by all ranks of people.’ The four paintings of the series divide into two imposing celebrations of the fleet (this one and number IV) and two depictions of what almost looks like a yacht race (numbers II and III). This picture, the first in the series, records the moment on 22 June when the King arrived by barge from Portsmouth to meet the fleet at Spithead, and came on board the Barfleur, a ship of 90 guns, which can be seen in the centre of the composition. The flags of the Lord High Admiral, the Royal Standard and the Union flag were hoisted on the Barfleur when the King boarded, on the sight of which the surrounding warships, their yards manned by sailors, fired a 21-gun salute. The ships’ names are legible on their sterns and the accuracy of Serres’s record is apparent when the painting is compared to his drawings made over the four days. Signed and dated [D] Serres / 1774 [on buoy] Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004