Who painted The Battle of La Hogue?

The Battle of La Hogue was painted by Benjamin West in 1778.

Where can I see The Battle of La Hogue?

The Battle of La Hogue is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is The Battle of La Hogue?

The Battle of La Hogue is associated with Neoclassicism.

Can I buy a print of The Battle of La Hogue?

Museum-quality prints of The Battle of La Hogue are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Battle of La Hogue

Benjamin West , 1778

The Battle of La Hogue is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Benjamin West. It dates from 1778 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:lower left on the stern of the boat: B. West 1778. [1]

About this work

Technique & Style

West applied oil paint to the stretched canvas support, employing layered brushwork to render dramatic chiaroscuro and dynamic composition.

The Battle of La Hogue is an oil painting executed on canvas. West applied oil paint to the stretched canvas support, employing layered brushwork to render dramatic chiaroscuro and dynamic composition. The work measures 152.7 cm in height and 214 cm in width, reflecting a history painting style marked by vivid color contrasts and expressive figures.

These formal qualities underscore the canvas’s handling and condition as preserved in the National Gallery of Art collection.

History & Provenance

The Battle of La Hogue was commissioned by the British government to commemorate Admiral Vernon's 1758 naval victory and painted by Benjamin West in 1778. It entered the collection of Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl of Grosvenor, and remained in his family through successive generations, including his son Robert, who became the 1st Marquess of Westminster, and later passed to his grandson, the 2nd Duke of Westminster. The work was sold from the Duke's estate at Sotheby's in London on 15 July 1959 and subsequently acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in December 1959.

The Battle of La Hogue is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in December 1959 from John Nicholson Gallery, having previously been sold at Sotheby's in London on 15 July 1959 (sale no. 125). The work entered the collection following its disposal from the estate of Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster.

Context

Benjamin West's 1778 oil on canvas The Battle of La Hogue entered the National Gallery of Art's collection in 1959 after a Sotheby's auction in London and brief exhibition at the John Nicholson Gallery, having previously belonged to the Grosvenor family.

Scholarship on the work includes its analysis within West's history painting practice, with provenance documented through multiple generations of the Grosvenor family and cited in The Paintings of Benjamin West (1986).

Overview

Benjamin West’s oil on canvas, painted in 1778, depicts the naval clash known as the Battle of La Hogue. The work captures a tumultuous sea scene where burning ships loom in the background and a small boat becomes the focal point for a desperate melee among uniformly dressed combatants.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a chaotic encounter at sea: soldiers in period attire scramble on a cramped vessel, some clinging to its rail while others struggle in the surf. A figure in a tricorn hat raises a flag, and another discharges a musket, underscoring the immediacy of combat and the peril of the battlefield.

Combate naval entre españoles y turcos, Cornelis de Wael

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Artist & collection

Artist

Benjamin West

Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an American-born British painter who specialised in history painting, creating such works as The Death of Nelson, The Death of General Wolfe, the Treaty of Paris,…