Thomas Luny (British, 1759-1837)
The Cato in two positions off Mount Edgcumbe, Plymouth
signed 'T. Luny' (lower left)
oil on canvas
53.7 x 77.2cm (21 1/8 x 30 3/8in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 8 November 1995, lot 16.
With the Royal Exchange Art Gallery, London.
Private collection, UK.

Cato was a 430 ton vessel that launched at Stockton in 1800. Shortly after, she made her way to New South Wales, Australia and in August 1803 along with HMS Porpoise and Bridgewater she formed a group of three ships that headed north on the east coast of Australia. Sadly, her trip was short as later that month she was wrecked together with HMS Porpoise in the Great Barrier Reef, in an area that would later become known as Wreck Reefs. Bridgewater continued to sail until 1805 when she disappeared without a trace on passage from Bombay to England.

The canvas has been lined.

There are visible stretcher marks with some corresponding craquelure.

There is craquelure throughout. However, all of this appears stable.

There are a few surface scratches and in areas of the sea the paint appears thin.

There are spots of surface dirt scattered through the composition.

UV light reveals a few areas of retouching in the sky one of which has discoloured slightly and is visible to the naked eye. and one area of retouching in the sea. There also appears to be infilling to the aforementioned craquelure on the stretcher marks.