The paddle steamer 'Rob Roy' aground

This painting represents a farcical scene. A paddle steamer has run aground somewhere on the Scottish coast and the passengers are being carried ashore by kilt-wearing locals. One of the rescuers has collapsed under the weight of the portly gentleman on his back, leaving the pair of them spreadeagled in the shallow water. The figures are painted in a caricature-like style with exaggerated features. The scale is comically distorted in places, most notably in the case of the towering Scotsman and the tiny passenger who sits on his shoulders.

The name of the grounded vessel is inscribed on its bow: it is called 'Rob Roy' after a Scottish folk hero. Shipbuilder William Denny constructed a paddle steamer of this name at his yard in Dumbarton on the River Clyde in 1818. The ship made history on its maiden voyage from Glasgow to Dublin, becoming the first steam-powered vessel to sail on the open sea. Steamships were still new technology at this date, and they had previously only been used on river voyages. Having proved its seaworthiness, the 'Rob Roy' was put into regular service, sailing twice a week from Greenock to Belfast. In 1821, it was transferred to Dover to work as a cross-Channel steamer. Two years later, it was purchased by the French government and became France’s first seaworthy steamship.

Presumably, the painting was made to celebrate this pioneering Scottish ship. The masts visible over the harbour wall in the distance emphasise the technological transition from sail to steam. It is not known who the artist was or for whom the picture was originally made. However, by the mid-20th century, it was owned by William Denny and Brothers Limited, the shipbuilding firm who had built the Rob Roy. They submitted the painting to an exhibition entitled ‘The Artist and the River Clyde’ at Helensburgh and District Art Club in 1958 and six years later donated it to the National Maritime Museum.

When the painting arrived here in Greenwich, its title was recorded in the Museum’s files as “Rob Roy steamer. Passengers being carried ashore when she ran aground on her trial trip.” However, no historical records of this incident have so far been found. The ship’s owner, David Napier, mounted a successful promotional campaign, ensuring that press coverage of the maiden voyage stressed the vessel’s speed and safety. No newspaper reports referred to the 'Rob Roy' having run aground at any point, although several did note that, due to “the boisterous state of the weather”, the ship had been forced to put into Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran to shelter for eight hours. It is possible that the painting depicts this unscheduled stop on Arran.

Napier himself had been one of the passengers on the voyage. He later recalled that his friend Charles Macintosh, who accompanied him, had been convinced the day before they were due to depart that “we should all be drowned” (it may be no coincidence that Macintosh later went on to invent the waterproof coat!). Some of the scared expressions shown in the painting evoke this sense of trepidation at trying out unproven technology.