This fine work from J.E. Buttersworth’s English period shows an excellent early example of the artist’s developing trademark skies, skillfully shaded and composed to frame the accurate lines and strong detail of his ships.

In this narrative composition, a British frigate wearing the pilot jack at her foremast heads up channel under a full press of canvas. Off her stern, the crew of the pilot cutter ready their longboat. The splendid background detail features a panoramic view ranging from Dover Harbor on the left with the distinctive contours of Dover Castle on the bluff above, to the South Foreland to the right with a sail-steam topsail schooner preparing to anchor in the sheltered area known as the Downs.

This painting shows a strong influence from the artist’s father and teacher, Thomas Buttersworth, but it also features a refinement and improvement that had started to become more and more evident as the younger Buttersworth distilled his own style from his broadening experience and exposure to the techniques of other marine artists of the period.