THE BATTLE OF THE NILE

Published in 1983, Robert Taylor’s majestic painting captures a moment during one of Nelson’s most celebrated naval victories, the action in Aboukir Bay, Egypt on 1 August 1798 that became known as the Battle of the Nile. Catching the French fleet unawares at anchor, Nelson did the unthinkable, he sailed between the anchored ships and the shore and within a matter of hours he had destroyed almost the entire enemy fleet. In the centre of this huge, vivid, painting – a ‘must’ for all lovers of maritime history - Nelson’s flagship HMS Vanguard delivers a full broadside into a French ship as French sailors row from the shore in vain to reach their vessels, but they are too late.