Brought to life: The Wreck of St George painting

In raging seas, in the dark and cold of a November night, the Royal Mail packet steamer St George is wrecked against the rocks of St Mary’s Isle after its anchor chain parts under the strain of the storm. 

As their vessel floods with water and is tossed broadside into the sharp rocks, the steamer crew make a desperate bid for life: launching a small boat that immediately overturns. The crew are recovered from the waves before cutting down the ship’s foremast in an attempt to construct a liferaft.

As each of these plans fail, the steamer’s captain Lieutenant John Tudor launches distress rockets into the sky. The crew pray for help and watch the ship come apart around them.

Spotting the distress rockets from shore, Sir William Hillary and a crew of 14 volunteers launch lifeboat True Blue into the severe gale, powered by crew on each of the 10 oars. Tim Thompson’s painting Wreck of St George picks up the story here.

Wreck of St George is a breathtaking scene of light and dark in oil on canvas, painted by world-renowned marine artist Tim Thompson in 1992, as part of a series called Gold Medal Rescues.