CLEVELEY, John the Elder
(b. ca. 1712, Southwark, d. 1777, Southwark)

King George III Reviewing the Fleet at Spithead, off Portsmouth Harbour

1774
Oil on canvas, 44 x 105 cm
Private collection

This panorama depicts the Royal Review of the Fleet held between 22 and 27 June 1773, one of only five such events held in England during the eighteenth century. Cleveley depicts the event as seen from the land battery which formed part of the defences of Portsmouth Harbour.