Arthur David McCORMICK (Ulster, 1860 - London, 1943) A sailor on the Invincible Oil on canvas Monogrammed 'MC' lower right A sailor from the Invincible, oil on canvas, by A. D. McCormick 68.50 x 40.16 in. 174 x 102 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; London, Bonhams, 11 September 2007, no. 94 ; Acquired at this sale by the current owners This important painting is a full-length portrait of a sailor reading a letter, perhaps from his partner, as he prepares to embark on one of the Royal Navy warships shown in the background. Our sailor is working for His Majesty's Ship called the Invicible, a battle cruiser developed in 1907. With less armour than the battleships HMS Dreadnought, the cruiser HMS Invisible was much faster. However, it was sunk by the SMS Lützow during the Battle of Jutland between the United Kingdom and the German Empire on 31 May 1916. Sailors are appreciated in popular culture, as they are in advertising, for the images they convey. The features of the sailor depicted in our painting appear to be the origin of the iconography that appears on "Players Navy Cut" cigarette packets (fig. 1). The model could be Thomas Huntley Wood, who was a sailor on the ship HMS Edinburgh. He is depicted by Arthur David McCormick in another painting, but this time in bust form, kept at HMS Excellent at Whale Island on Portsmouth Island (inv. no. P20741). Arthur David McCORMICK (Ulster, 1860 - London, 1943) 174 x 102 cm