The personal Dragon-Class Yacht of Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, BLUEBOTTLE was gifted to the royal couple as a wedding present in 1948 by the Island Sailing Club of Cowes, the same year the Swedish designed yacht-class was accepted into the Olympic Games. Shown at the tiller with two companions, Prince Philip sails of the English coast before two other dragons, her D K192 designation visible and proud on the mainsail.
Built by the esteemed firm of Camper and Nicholson, the sharp yacht carries a Bermuda Sloop rig, and measures 29' in overall length with 18'6" at the waterline, quite a pronounced and sharp shape. The wood planking on timbers was a tight 6'4" beam with a 3'11" draught, making for a speedy and highly maneuverable sailing craft. BLUEBOTTLE would win an Olympic Bronze medal in 1956. She still summer sails occasionally today as part of the National Maritime Museum Collection, on loan from the Duke of Edinburgh.
Paintings by Montague Dawson continue to be in high demand. We strongly believe that as well as the yacht, the painting was owned at one time by Prince Philip himself. The scarcity of yachting scenes make any which come up for sale highly desirable. This composition is quite accomplished of a subject which Dawson painted two other known paintings, with one being reproduced as a limited print in 1953. His artistic excellence is apparent throughout this fine yachting scene.
