Spithead: Two Captured Danish Ships Entering Portsmouth Harbour
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: 1807–9
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1714 x 2337 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the "Spithead: Two Captured Danish Ships Entering Portsmouth Harbour" by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Painted between 1807 and 1809, Turner captured a real moment of naval history after the British seized Denmark’s fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. He went to Portsmouth to watch the captured ships—likely the Three Crowns and Denmark—make their way into the harbor, and he put them on canvas with his typical dramatic sense of light and water.
The scene is tense: two ships bob in a choppy sea, the sky heavy with clouds, and the distant shoreline of Hampshire visible. Below the British ensign on the right‑hand vessel, you’ll spot a small Danish flag, a subtle reminder that the ships are not British but former Danish prizes. Turner was careful to disguise the political edge of the painting, changing its title to “Boat’s Crew Recovering an Anchor,” a move that helped it pass the press of the time without raising eyebrows.
Turner’s technique here—his use of loose brushwork and the way he lets the sea almost feel alive—makes the scene feel immediate. The painting was part of the Turner Bequest, accepted in 1856, and has been shown many times since, including at the Royal Academy in 1809 and again in 1810. It remains a compelling snapshot of naval power and the artist’s mastery of maritime drama.
See it in person
Spithead: Two Captured Danish Ships Entering Portsmouth Harbour is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
