John Thomas Serres, the son of Dominic Serres, was also a marine painter and draughtsman. Like his father he had close links with the navy, but because of his marriage to Olivia Wilmot, who claimed to be the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Cumberland, he fell foul of the Royal family and thus their patronage.
This rapid sketch is a study for an incident in one of a set of three paintings of the battle of Trafalgar which were engraved by John Hall in 1806. It is signed with initials and dated 1806.