View of Dover, with fishing vessels

This is an atmospheric drawing showing the view up from Dover harbour towards the castle with what appears to be a row of long-boats in the left centre. The fishing boat on the right has a seaman's jacket rigged, scarecrow-like, on its mizzen. This motif also occurs in a different drawing by Pocock’s son, William, of boats probably at Dover (PAF5892). This may just be coincidence but William's drawing appears to be an almost exact copy of a drawing by J. M. W. Turner – itself one of a series that Turner and Girtin made in the area in 1793 – suggesting that the Pococks may have had access to Turner’s series. The most likely place for this to occur would have been at the house of Dr Thomas Monro, an early supporter of Turner and Girtin, which was much frequented by artists of the previous generation and was a fount of interchange. Nicholas Pocock and Turner must have known each other's work since both exhibited at the Royal Academy together. However no direct evidence of Pocock copying Turner – or vice versa – has been identified yet.

Object Details

ID: PAD8795
Collection: Fine art; Special collections
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Pocock, Nicholas
Places: Unlinked place
Date made: ca.1800
People: Pocock, Nicholas
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Mount: 175 mm x 276 mm