18th Century Naval Military Portrait Captain Gamaliel Nightingale By John Simmons 1715-1780

• 1 Large Important Fine Art 18th Century Oil Painting Naval Military Portrait Captain Gamaliel Nightingale By John Simmons The Younger of Nailsea 1715-1780.
• Title “Portrait of Captain Gamaliel Nightingale By John Simmons the younger.
• Subject portrait of the known gentleman Captain Nightingale in half length front view facing the viwer he wearing his best naval military dress uniform, blue, white with gold. He has a receding hairline, full lips, rosy cheek complexion, with his hair tied back, clean shaven, strong masculine facial features. 
• Unsigned by the artist John Simmons of Nailsea.
• John Simmons the Younger did not sign all of his works the brushstrokes in this work are that of John Simmons 1715-1780 with Bonhams provenance.
• In our opinion this is one of his very fine portrait works.
• Circa Mid 18th century.
• Medium oil on canvas
• Frame is an impressive size being 79 cm wide and 92.75 cm high.
• Having such beautiful detail.
• Set in a fine gilt frame which enhances this artwork. 
• Artist biography John Simmons the younger 1715-1780 he was especially known for exploring and island in the Tristan da Cunha group, which was named after him. He was a British portrait artist from the 17th century, he was born in the year 1715 in Nailsea which is a town in North Somerset which is some 8 Miles southeast of Bristol. He died in Bristol in 1780. His paintings have sold at high end auctions worldwide like Bonhams & Christie’s.
• John Simmons (Nailsea 1715-1780 Bristol) Portrait of Captain Gamaliel Nightingale, half-length, in naval uniform oil on canvas 76.7x 63.6cm (30 3/16 x 25 1/16in). framed: 91.5 x 78.7cm Footnotes: Provenance Private Collection, Europe, since at least 1990 Captain Sir Gamaliel Nightingale was the 9th Baronet of the Nightingale Baronetcy, and served in the Royal Navy from 1744 to 1779. He was known for exploring an island in the Tristan da Cunha group, which was subsequently named after him. It remains known as Nightingale island to this day. 
• Biography of Captain Sir Gamaliel Nightingale, 9th Baronet (15 February 1731 – January 1791) was an English landowner and Royal Navy officer. His early life and family Sir Gamaliel was born at Kneesworth Hall, his family seat. He was the son of Sir Edward Nightingale, the 7th baronet, and Eleanora Ethelston. His older brother Edward succeeded to the Nightingale baronetcy on the death of their father in 1750. Sir Gamaliel succeeded his brother in 1782.
• His naval career Nightingale's first command was HMS Badger in 1757 which was a was a 14-gun sloop was launched in 1745 and lost in 1762. From 1758, he commanded HMS Vengeance which was a 28-gun sixth rate ship of the Royal Navy. She had previously been a French privateer under the same name until her capture in 1758 during the Seven Years War In 1759, the Vengeance and its 200 men and 28 guns saw action off Quiberon Bay. On 13 March 1761, while still commanding the Vengeance, he captured the 44-gun French privateer Entreprenant by Land’s End.
• He later took command of HMS Flora which was called the Vestale it was a Blonde class 30-gun frigate of the French Navy. The Royal Navy captured her in 1761, but had to scuttle her in 1778 to avoid having the French recapture her. She was refloated and sold to the French in 1784. She returned to wartime service in 1794 as a privateer. The British recaptured her in 1798 and broke her up thereafter. Nightingale was also a member of the Honourable East India Company.
• Nightingale Island Sir Gamaliel is also known for exploring a small volcanic island near Tristan da Cunha which in 1760 he named Nightingale Island. Lying in the South Atlantic Ocean between Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, it is part of one of the remotest archipelagos in the world. The island is densely populated by wildlife, particularly birds, and is recognized by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area. Two of the world's rarest birds are found only on the island: the Nightingale Bunting (4,000 pairs) and Wilkin’s Bunting (approximately 85 pairs).
• "Captain Gamaliel Nightingale". Bonham's. Retrieved 7 September 2023. Cokayne, George Edward, ed. (1900). The Complete Baronetage: Volume II. Exeter : W. Pollard & co., ltd. pp. 53–55. Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792. Seaford. ISBN 978-1861762955. Rodger, N.A.M. (1986). The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy. Naval Institute Press. p. 175-6. ISBN 0870219871.Troude, Onesime-Joachim (1867). Batailles Navales de la France, Volume 1 (in French). Paris: Libraire Commissionaire de la Marine. p. 385. OCLC 757299734. "No. 10090".
• The London Gazette. 24 March 1761. p. 2. "NMM, vessel ID 366908" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol vi. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2021. "Tristan da Cunha Nightingale Islands". Important Bird Areas factsheet. Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association. Retrieved 1 December2021. "Nightingale Island group". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
• Provenance Bonhams label verso & in the collection of Cheshire Antiques Consultant
• With hanging thread on the back ready for immediate home display. 
• Incredible conversation piece for your guests. 
• A superb collectors item. 
• We only select & sell paintings based upon subject, quality & significance. 
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• Condition report. 
• Offered in fine used condition. 
• The front painting surface is in good overall order with various foxing staining, & craquelure in areas commensurate with usage & age. The frame having various signs of wear, scuffs, scratches, stains, dust, losses in places and repairs also some cracking, commensurate with usage & old age.
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Dimensions in centimetres of the frame

High (92.75 cm) 
Width (79 cm) 
Length depth thickness of frame (5.5 cm)

Ref: BQPE35GBFS