Naval Officers of World War I

1 portrait

Naval Officers of World War I, by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope, 1921 - NPG - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Naval Officers of World War I

by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope
oil on canvas, 1921
104 in. x 202 1/2 in. (2641 mm x 5144 mm)
Given by Sir Abraham ('Abe') Bailey, 1st Bt, 1921
Primary Collection
NPG 1913


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Shortly after the First World War, the leading financier and public servant Sir Abraham Bailey decided to commission three group portraits to commemorate the role of the army, the navy and the politicians in bringing the war to a close. This portrait by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope commemorates the role of the navy and is set in the Admiralty Board Room at the Old Admiralty Office in Whitehall, London. Today, the room retains many of the original features from 1725, the year in which the architect Thomas Ripley completed the Admiralty building. In Cope's painting we can see the wind dial which was operated by a metal vane in the roof and the elaborate carvings in limewood of nautical instruments which surrounded it. On the extreme left hangs a portrait by Leonardo Guzzardi of Nelson, and it was in this room that Nelson and other naval commanders' despatches were read, including that carried by HMS Pickle, which told of the victory at Trafalgar and of Nelson's death.

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