The Balloon Over Calais

The Balloon Over Calais

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Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Painting. [Balloon arriving at Calais] / by EW Cocks (fl.1825-1840), 1840. Oil on canvas; [sight] 28.8x37.2cm in gilt frame 53.5x61.5x9.5cm. Signed bl. Charles Green's flight from London to Nassau, balloon crossing of the English Channel, 8 November 1836, shows balloon above Calais harbour, a seascape with paddlesteamer (anachronism) and fishing boats, with French soldiers (tricolour flag stripes incorrectly ordered).

The Balloon Over Calais', France, 8 November 1836. Oil painting by E W Cocks. A scene from English aeronaut Charles Green's flight from London to Nassau, Germany, in a hydrogen balloon. Together with passengers Robert Holland MP and Thomas Monck Mason, Green (1785-1870) successfully completed the world's longest flight covering an estimated 480 miles in 18 hours. The route took them over Kent via Canterbury and Dover, England, before crossing the English Channel, and flying over Calais, France, and Liege, Belgium, to land in Weilburg, Germany.

Details

Category:
Art
Object Number:
1950-299/12
Materials:
oil paint on canvas
Measurements:
overall: 550 mm x 620 mm x 90 mm,
frame: 535 mm x 615 mm x 95 mm,
image [sight]: 288 mm x 372 mm
type:
oil painting
credit:
Penn-Gaskell Collection