William Hogarth, Captain Lord George Graham, c1745. Courtesy NMM

The National Maritime Museum (NMM), Greenwich, is redisplaying some of its most important paintings on themes of seafaring, exploration and empire in an exhibition entitled Art for the Nation.

The new show, running from November 17 2006 to September 2 2007, will be presented in the 17th century Queen’s House, re-affirming its role as a leading venue for maritime art. The building, designed by Inigo Jones, was re-opened in 2001 after an extensive renovation.

Art for the Nation takes a fresh look at the NMM’s internationally significant collection of art, which numbers more than 4,000 works in total, including early Dutch seascapes and many portraits. Featuring works by Gainsborough, Hogarth and Reynolds, the exhibition reveals the history of British maritime art, illustrating lesser known aspects of the nation’s cultural, social and economic past.

William Hodges, Tahiti Revisited. Courtesy NMM

Joshua Reynolds, the first president and a founder member of the Royal Academy (RA), owes his early fame to his naval friend, Augustus Keppel. Not only did Keppel take the artist with him when he sailed to Italy, but it was Reynolds’ full-length portrait of Keppel that launched the artist to fame in London in the early 1750s.

Thomas Gainsborough, another founder member of the RA, also found himself painting portraits of naval personalities, though he was far removed from Reynolds. His painting of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and First Lord of the Admiralty (1718-1792) is a major work in the NMM’s collection.

Other artists represented in the showcase of 200 works include William van de Velde the Younger, William Hodges, Charles Brooking and Eugene Boudin. Van de Velde, a Dutch painter, moved to England in 1673 to be employed by King Charles II as a maritime painter, along with his father.

Richard Eurich, Withdrawal from Dunkirk, 1940. Courtesy NMM

“When the van de Veldes – father and son – established their studio in the Queen’s House in 1673 they initiated a tradition that spans more than 330 years,” says Roy Clare, Director of the NMM. “The House is now a primary venue for the public enjoyment of the internationally important art collection that the Museum holds in trust.”

“In presenting this exhibition, and working towards others that will follow, the Museum is contributing to an overall renaissance in the study and appreciation of things maritime,” continues Clare. “Through this show – and in parallel activities related to our broader collections – we explore the causes, effects and consequences of imperial expansionism. In doing so, we enable people to appreciate a significant area of art for its own sake and to build awareness and a greater understanding of the origins of 21st-century Britain.”

Indeed, Art for the Nation demonstrates how many painters, from diverse schools, have been drawn to explore themes of calm and storm, movement of peoples, trade, exploration and encounter in peace and war. Their works trace the Britain’s long and defining relationship with the sea.

Henry Nelson O'Neil, Parting Cheer. Courtesy NMM

“We have a world-class collection of art, and one of the largest and finest collections of British portraiture in existence,” says Geoff Quilley, Curator of Fine Art at the NMM. “Art for the Nation will give people the chance to see the broad range of the paintings held in Greenwich.”

“There is extensive imagery related to empire, exploration and encounter, with major works by important artists – all under one roof, in a building that is of great historic significance in its own right.”

“The paintings make a vital contribution to understanding British heritage and its maritime and imperial basis, and form an important aspect of British and European art collecting.”

In addition, the exhibition is about how the collection itself was amassed, with information on how the paintings arrived at Greenwich and on their origins within collections that predate the opening of the NMM in 1934. It has also proved a catalyst for a comprehensive programme of conservation work.

Recent acquisitions and discoveries from research also feature, provoking questions of what it means to collect for a maritime nation in the 21st century.