The AGO is home to the Thomson Collection of Ship Models: over 130 examples of miniaturized ships spanning hundreds of years of maritime history.

One of the most important models in the collection is George Stockwell’s (1729-1805) 1774 model of the Bristol. Designed in 1768 and completed in 1775, the Bristol was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built for the Royal Navy amidst England’s war to suppress the independence movement in its American colonies.

Image credit:British fourth-rate two-decker 50-gun warship: Bristol (detail)1774George Stockwell, (British, 1729-1805)Georgian Model, scale1:48The Thomson CollectionArt Gallery of Ontario, Toronto