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A talented artist documents a royal occasion in a painting. Lost for 250 years, it reappears here on the Museum Walkway.
AN ART MYSTERY and A HAWAI`I CONNECTION
Another painting by the artist's equally talented son connects the family to Hawai'i and the death of Captain James Cook.

The Launching of HMS Grafton at Deptford

When Their Majesties Were Present


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From London to Hawai`i



John Cleveley (The Elder) 1712-1777

1772 Oil on canvas England

HMS GRAFTONHMS Grafton was a 74-gun ship-of-the-line, the equivalent of a modern battleship. John Cleveley painted her twice, once to celebrate her launching in front of the king.
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TWO PAINTINGS BY JOHN CLEVELEY (THE ELDER)The painting above left shows another third-rate warship of about the same size as the Grafton. At right is a view of a single warship, the frigate HMS Pallas, shown from three different viewpoints. Cleveley and other marine painters used this technique often, and if you look closely at Waikoloa's painting, you'll see that he used it here, too.
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JOHN CLEVELEY'S SURPRISING HAWAI'I CONNECTIONCleveley's family later carried this maritime story into the Pacific - and into one of the most debated images of the death of Captain James Cook.
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This 1755 painting of the launch of another warship, HMS Cambridge, shows a similar scene with three key differences. First, only the Cambridge, still on the slipway, is flying all five flags. The ship out in the stream is HMS Royal George. She's only flying the naval ensign - the "Red Duster." Second, Royal George wasn't launched until 1756, a year after Cambridge. This is another instance of Cleveley merging events or manipulating a scene. Third, the ship on another slipway in the background is also flying only the Red Duster. On the occasion of a royal visit, all of the ships present would be "dressed" with the flags we see on our Waikoloa picture.
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