Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding was born into a family of artists, as explained by his high-sounding name (after the painters Anthony van Dyck and John Singleton Copley). A prolific and proficient artist, he was an influential figurehead to the Old Watercolour Society as its president from 1831 until his death. Inspired by a nautical misadventure in the treacherous passage through the Eddystone Rock near Cornwall, this watercolour typifies Fielding’s large-scale exhibition set pieces, which earned him considerable financial success.