(Dutch, 1724-1801)

Rare Portrait of John Paul Jones, referred to as the Father of the United States Navy, circa 1780-1790s, in feigned round bezel over an image of the Battle between the Continental Navy's Richard Bonhomme and the HMS Serapis, an eventual and unexpected British Naval defeat, signed bottom middle "J Buys f", pen and ink and ink wash, small original sheet 3-3/8 x 2-1/8 in., mount 9-7/8 x 7-1/2 in.; with engraving after the accompanying original by Cornelis Bogerts (or Bogaerts, Dutch, 1745-1817) and Reinier Vinkeles (1741-1816), "XIII, D. Pl. X" from an unknown publication, sheet 3-1/2 x 2-1/2 in.; within one painted wood frame, 13-1/2 x 15-3/4 x  in.

Provenance: Private New England Collection

Note: "Predictably, Serapis maneuvered around Bonhomme Richard, methodically inflicting heavy damage. As casualties aboard the American ship mounted, Pearson shouted to Jones, asking if he would strike his colors. Given the course of the battle to that point, it was a rational question.

Most contemporary accounts record his response as, "I may sink, but I'll be damned if I strike!" It later morphed into the phrase that has since echoed in U.S. naval history: "I have not yet begun to fight."

Jones had roiled the coasts of the British Isles, captured or destroyed British merchant ships and outfought a modern British frigate in single-ship combat, a victory that made him a hero in America and a celebrity in Paris and other European capitals."

This work is likely derived from a mezzotint by either Richard Brookshaw (circa 1736-1804) or Johann Elias Haid (1739-1809), all perhaps influenced by the repeated circulating 1780 lifetime portrait by Jean Michel Moreau (1741-1814).

References: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/06/12/john-paul-jones-sea-power-visionary/

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/personExtended/mp02458/john-paul-jones?tab=iconography