Lot 723: Roe (1947), Oil on Canvas Painting of a British Destroyer in East Asia 40x31cm

A mid-20th-century oil on canvas painting, laid down on a wooden panel, depicting a Royal Navy destroyer of the Tribal or K-class. The vessel is shown at sail in an atmospheric East Asian harbour, likely Hong Kong, indicated by a traditional triple-masted Chinese junk in the foreground and a backdrop of rugged, mountainous coastlines. The composition is executed in a representational style with particular attention to the ship’s structural details, including its gun turrets, radar arrays, and rigging. The sky is rendered with an amber-toned gradient suggesting sunset or dawn, which is reflected on the water’s surface alongside broad, horizontal brushstrokes. The painting is signed ROE in orange-yellow paint in the lower right corner, with the date 1947 inscribed immediately below. The canvas is presented without a frame, showing raw, frayed edges where it is adhered to a dark-stained wooden panel support. The reverse of the panel shows a coarse wood grain and remnants of white adhesive tape around the perimeter.