East Indiamen in the China seas;This large painting is believed to depict the 'Winchelsea' and other Indiamen at sea. The subject of Indiamen in the East was a familiar one to Huggins who had probably begun his working life at sea and served in the East India Company as a steward and assistant purser on board the 'Perseverance', which sailed for Bombay and China in December 1812, returning in August 1814. He had established himself as a marine painter by 1817, close to the London headquarters of the Company in Leadenhall Street, where he worked for the rest of his life.. Image from National Maritime Museum