Battle of the Nile oil on canvas sale highlight

An oil on canvas that captures Lord Nelson’s historic victory at the Battle of the Nile in the late 18th century looks set to be one of the highlights of Bonhams’ upcoming Marine Sale this month.

Entitled The Battle of the Nile, 1st August 1798 by Yorkshire-born maritime artist John Steven Dews, the painting is signed by the artist and carries an estimate of £100,000-150,000.

The so-called Battle of the Nile was fought in Aboukir Bay, about 15 miles west of Alexandria, on 1 August 1798. Lord Horatio Nelson, having spent most of the summer cruising the Eastern Mediterranean looking for the French naval Admiral Brueys’ Toulon fleet, finally came upon it as it lay at anchor in Aboukir Bay in Egypt following the disembarkation of the army with which Napoleon was to conquer the country.

Brueys had chosen a strong position in a well-protected anchorage, although Nelson had the advantage of surprise. More significantly, it was already six o’clock in the evening when Nelson sighted the French and, with only two hours of daylight remaining, Brueys was confident that any attack would have to be postponed until the next day, by which time his own fleet would be ready.

Nelson, with typical daring, amazed both his own captains as well as the French by ordering his ships into the Bay where they engaged the enemy in a spirited action which lasted almost through the night. The decisive moment came just after 10 o’clock when the French flagship, the huge 120-gun L’Orient, blew up with a tremendous explosion and, when dawn broke, the French annihilation became apparent with nine of their badly damaged ships captured and another four destroyed.

It was a glorious victory for Nelson, one of the greatest in British naval history, and the one which brought him to the pinnacle of his career.