In 1997 the Museum commissioned Humphrey Ocean to paint a large picture on the theme of maritime Britain at the end of the 20th century. The resulting picture, 'The first of England', takes as its starting point day-trippers returning to Dover on a cross channel ferry. In order to establish the subject the artist took a ferry trip from Dover on a warm, hazy October day. Afterwards he painted this sketch which established the composition, colours and feeling of the final painting, although a complex evolutionary process over a period of months then took place.