An Indian troopship

A painting showing a troopship lying alongside in Portsmouth dockyard. Such ships were used to convey troops to various parts of the Empire, in this case to India. Queen Victoria was made Empress of India in 1876, and India remained part of the Empire until 1947. During this period India was directly ruled and administered by Britain and troopships such as the one in this painting were used to carry troops to and from the subcontinent.

The ship depicted here is one of the five ships of the 'Serapis' class launched in 1866-1867. The location is probably South Railway Jetty, Portsmouth, as seen from the Gosport ferry pontoon. The ships of the 'Serapis' class were differentiated by the colour of the riband painted around the hull: yellow for 'Crocodile', red of 'Jumna', green for 'Serapis', blue for 'Euraphrates' and black for 'Malabar'. The band shown in the painting appears to be black, suggesting that the ship depicted is the 'Malabar'.

The painting is signed ‘Beatrix Fisher 1894’. Fisher (1867–1930) was a watercolour artist and, as the eldest daughter of Admiral Sir John (Jacky) Fisher, later Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, she had the unusual freedom and opportunity to paint aboard ships and in dockyards. She studied at the Portsmouth School of Science and Art, studying subjects including model and perspective drawing and anatomy. In 1886, she attended at least one Cambridge University Extension course in Portsmouth, gaining a distinction in astronomy. Often out with her paints or camera, she created works that record the historical period when the Royal Navy was changing from wooden hulled sailing ships to steel and steam. In 1896, she married Captain (later Admiral) Reginald Rundell Neeld.