The artist was born in Greenwich and was exhibiting at the Royal Academy by the time he was twenty-one. He had a large teaching practice and taught amateurs and professionals, as well as naval and military pupils. The 'Dreadnought' shown here, the fifth ship to bear this name, fought at Trafalgar and in 1827 was handed over by the Admiralty to the merchant Seamen's Hospital Society (founded 1821) and moored off Greenwich as a hospital ship 'for seamen of all nations'. She replaced the ex-naval 'Grampus' (1821-27) and was in turn replaced by the second 'Dreadnought' (ex-'Caledonia') in 1856: see PAH3251 and PAH3271. Smith's watercolour was engraved in aquatint in 1831 (see PAI6880, PAI7101), which indicates that he was about sixteen when he painted it.