John Worsley was a British artist and illustrator who was an official war artist during the Second World War, best known for his portraits and naval battle scenes. He was captured by the Germans and detained in the prisoner-of-war camp Marlag O, where he documented prison life with supplies provided by the Red Cross. He also turned his artistic skills to the forgery of identity papers and was involved in the escape attempt using a mannequin named Albert R.N., which was used to masquerade as an officer during roll-call while the lieutenant he replaced made his escape.

After the war, Worsley continued painting portraits of high-ranking officers for the Admiralty before becoming an illustrator of Eagle, Girl, and the comic strip The Adventures of P.C. 49. He also produced Army Recruitment posters, assisted Scotland Yard in drawing from descriptions, and produced hundreds of large plates for televised children’s adaptations such as The Wind in the Willows.

This painting depicts pleasure and sailing boats during the 1980 America’s Cup off Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender Freedom, skippered by Dennis Conner, is depicted rounding the windward mark with the Australian challenger Australia, skippered by James Hardy. This was the last successful defence of the cup by the New York Yacht Club.

Paintings by Worsley hang in the Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum.