NICHOLAS CONDY (BRITISH, 1793-1857) The R.Y.S. cutter yacht ...

Hammer

£19,000

NICHOLAS CONDY (BRITISH, 1793-1857)

The R.Y.S. cutter yacht 'Ganymede', with the owner J.H.W. Pigott Smyth Pigott Esq. on deck

signed and inscribed 'The Cutter Yacht/ Ganymede 70 Ton/ Piggott Esq/ Painted by N. Condy Esq.' (on the artist's label, to the reverse)

Oil on panel

13¾ x 17⅞in. (34.9 x 45.4cm.)

Ganymede was a 70-ton cutter first recorded at the Dublin Regatta on 22 July 1828 when she was owned by Colonel Madden. By the time the Colonel was elected to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1832, he had sold Ganymede to the 3rd Lord Graves who only kept her for one season before selling her to Viscount Exmouth. After two further rapid changes of ownership, she was acquired by J.H.W.P. Smyth-Pigott in 1842 and he kept her until 1848 during which period she is known to have been painted by Condy.

Apart from her appearance at the Dublin Regatta in 1828, there is no other record of Ganymede racing and her subsequent owners appear to have used her exclusively for cruising, a pursuit which had gained considerable popularity during the reign of William IV (1830-37). The following extract is taken from Guest & Boulton’s Memorials of the Royal Yacht Squadron, 1815-1900, publ. 1903:

“.....Mr Smyth Pigott, in the Ganymede, was a notable disciple of the cruising school, who lived on his yacht all the year round, and spent most winters in the south. Mr. Pigott, “who is devoted to yachting and a very experienced sailor, and one of the most active members of the spirited aquatic fraternity of the R.Y.S.,” as Bell’s Life records. “His vessel, for man-of-war-like efficiency, order, trim, and discipline, is the beau ideal of the English gentleman’s yacht,” as we are told......”

good overall condition, light scattered retouching to edges