The Indiana was built in 1872 by Wm. Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia, PA. The ship measured 375 feet in length, 43 feet 8 inches in beam, and 3,126 tons. Indiana was one of the first four iron trans-Atlantic ships built in the United States. Indiana's sister ships include Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. The ship was owned by the American Line and was in service between Europe and America.
The Indiana was insured by INA. The painting shows a starboard view of the steamship sailing in rough water. There is a keystone painted on its stack representing the Pennsylvania Railroad, which partly owned the American Line. The ship is driven by both sail and steam, with the sails helping to keep the ship steady. The CIGNA collection has a painting of Indiana's sister ship Pennsylvania.
Samuel Walters (1811-1882) was a British marine painter. The painting style is typical of his later seascapes. It is painted with a broad brushstroke and has a wet appearance. Also, it is the typical angle of his ships at this time.
The painting shows a small rowing craft with seven men heading toward a wrecked sailing vessel in stormy seas. In the distance, buildings can be seen on the shore off to the right. The background may be near New York. Unlike more formal ship portraits, this painting does not depict a particular ship.
Grinnell, Minturn & Company owned two ships named Ontario. Benjamin Minturn also owned a third ship named Ontario with John T. Champlin. The ship featured in the painting is most likely Ontario (II). It was built in New Castle, Maine for Grinnell, Minturn & Company in 1854, measuring 202 feet in length, 40 feet 3 inches in beam, 20 feet in depth of hold, and 1,501 tons. The ship entered the Blue Swallowtail Line service in 1854, sailing regularly from New York to Liverpool until 1858. From 1858 to 1863 it conducted regular service from New York to London for the Red Swallowtail Line. Both the Blue Swallowtail Line and Red Swallowtail Line were owned by Grinnell, Minturn & Company. After 1863 the ship did not sail for any regular service but made trips between New York and Europe when needed. The company was active until about 1880.
The painting shows a right profile of the vessel sailing off Dover Castle, one of the oldest and largest castles in England. This site is known as "the Gateway to England," as it marks the shortest distance across the English Channel to France. Ontario is showing the U.S. jack in diminutive form and is calling for a pilot; all its sails are unfurled except one in the rear. The ship is flying the Marryat Code 1/9162. The Grinnell house flag, which is blue and white with a swallow tail, is also flying. There is a carved flag swag on the bow of the ship. Other sailing and steam vessels can be seen in the distance.
Richard B. Spencer was a British painter active between 1840 and 1873. His subjects were mainly sailing vessels or naval engagements. Spencer is considered a folk artist, as he had no formal training in art.
The Thomas Battersby was built in New Brunswick, Canada in 1825 by John Wilson. The ship measured 102 feet long and 323 tons. The Thomas Battersby was owned by Richard Battersby, and its home port was reported as Belfast. Thomas Battersby was built as a scow and rerigged by 1845 as a brig. It was in the cotton trade between Liverpool and New Orleans, and was last listed in the Lloyd's register in 1847.
The painting shows two views of the same ship, the view of the stern employed to show the name of the ship. Liverpool is visible in the back ground with a good view of the industrial buildings. There are several smaller craft in the painting.
Artist Miles Walters was born in 1774 and died in 1849. He was a shipwright, and later a seaman. After leaving the sea Miles moved to London. He later moved to Liverpool with third son Samuel Walters (1811-1882), where he was listed in the directories as an artist. He worked on several pieces with his son Samuel who studied at the Liverpool Mechanics School of Arts. Samuel became one of the most popular marine painters of his time.
The Mirage was built at West Hartlepool, England in 1855 by John Pile. It measured 180 feet long and 965 tons. Mirage was the first ship launched from Hartlepool, after John Pile had been asked to set up a shipyard there by Ralph Ward Jackson. It was commanded by Captain J. Roberts. Mirage was primarily involved in trade between England and China.
The painting by Thomas Dutton shows the Mirage entering the Mersey River off the coast of Anglesey, England. South Stack Lighthouse, Puffin Island, the Skerries, and Holyhead are visible.
Artist Thomas Goldsworthy Dutton was born in 1819. He is best known for his lithographs of shipping scenes, though he did create watercolor and oil paintings as well. In 1844 he was recorded as a lithographic artist and marine draftsman. He died in 1891.
The Battle of Manila Bay took place on May 1, 1898. The battle was fought between the American Pacific Squadron and the Spanish Pacific Squadron, near the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. The American fleet was commanded by Commodore George Dewey, the Spanish by Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón. The flagships of the battle were USS Olympia for the Americans and Reina Cristina for the Spanish. Seven American ships fought against nine Spanish ships though several small gunboats, equipped with weapons from land defenses, also took part in the battle. USS Olympia was built by Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California; it was launched in 1892 and was first commissioned under the command of John J. Reed. USS Olympia measured 344 feet long and 5,586 tons. Reina Cristina was built in Ferrol, Spain; when the ship was launched in 1887 it measured 278 feet long and 3,042 tons. The Battle of Manila Bay led to a major American victory; all the Spanish ships in the squadron were either destroyed, like Reina Cristina, or surrendered.
The Mary Ann and Jane was built in Sunderland in 1853. It measured 114 feet in length, 26 feet 5 inches in beam, 17 feet 2 inches in depth, and 349 tons. The ship was originally owned by Ogilsby until 1861 when W. Allison gained ownership. Later, in 1866, it was sold to M. Reay. After 1872, the ship dropped out of Lloyds Registry. Mary Ann and Jane is pictured with the port side in view under full sail off the coast of Tynemouth. The ship is flying the British flag at the stern and a blue pennant on top reads "Mary Ann and Jane". It is sailing on choppy green seas and other vessels can be seen in the background. John Scott was a Newcastle painter born in 1840. He worked mainly in oils. Typically his paintings featured England's eastern coastline as the background.
The painting shows an unidentified British merchant vessel of the period 1850-1860. It is in the process of lowering its jib sails or sails at the bow (front) of the vessel, clewing up its mainsail and reefing its topgallants and royals or shortening its sails for slowing down, as illustrated by the men out on the yards. The merchant vessel is requesting a pilot, and Pilot Boat #21 is approaching the ship just off its port bow.
This large oil of a shipwreck is by Anglo-American artist Edward Moran (1829-1901), best known for his marine paintings. Born in England, he and his three brothers were trained in weaving by their father; all four later became artists. The family emigrated to Maryland in 1844, and Moran is listed as an artist in the 1857 New York city directory. In 1862 he returned to England and Europe, where he studied for a decade. Throughout his life he continued to travel extensively and paint.
This particular painting depicts a large, unnamed sailing ship in her death throes. The vessel has been dismasted-almost certainly by the storm filling the background and whipping up the sea in the foreground. The ship is down by the stern and listing or leaning to the starboard side, shipping water. Two upper masts are visible in the water in the foreground, with men clinging to them for life support. Many common sailors did not know how to swim, so they had to hold onto something floating if they had any hope of rescue. Two life boats are pulling for the men trapped on the rigging, fishing desperate sailors out of the water as they can. It is not clear whether the small boats are from the sinking ship or a rescue vessel.
While the vessel's name is unknown, the presence of an open gunport in the port bow indicates a warship. Merchant vessels often had painted gunports along their hulls to look more dangerous from a distance, but the water running out of the corner of this one indicates the real thing. But lacking any means of identification, the painting is probably best viewed as an allegory for the power of nature over man.
The painting shows two vessels in rough water, possibly off Cape Horn. At an earlier time, it was thought that this was a painting of the clipper Sea Witch, but this is most likely not the case.
USS Pennsylvania was built in 1872 by Wm. Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia, PA. The ship measured 375 feet in length, 43 feet 8 inches in beam, and 3,104 tons. Pennsylvania was one of the first four iron transatlantic liners built in the United States. Sister ships were Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The Pennsylvania was sold in 1884 to the International Navigation company. Later, in 1898 the ship was sold to the Alaska Steamship Company. The Pennsylvania made its first Atlantic crossing in May 1873. While returning from Europe in 1874, Pennsylvania encountered a severe gale which swept the captain, first and second officers, and two seamen from the bridge of the ship. They were drowned, leaving no one to command the ship. One of the passengers, C. L. Brady, formerly the third officer on the White Star liner Atlantic, took over and brought the ship in.
The painting shows a portside profile of the steamer in vigorous seas. To the distant left, a small sailing craft is approaching. The plate on the original frame reads "American Line Ship S/S Pennsylvania, Organized by the Penna. R.R. 1871, First Crossing to England, 1873, Built by Wm. Cramp & Sons." The CIGNA collection contains a painting of Pennsylvania's sister ship Indiana.
The painter, James Hamilton (1819-1878), was born in Ireland and came to Philadelphia with his family at age 15. He probably painted this picture sometime between the time the ship was built in 1872 and 1875, when he sold most of his possessions in order to take a trip around the world. In 1878, he died while in San Francisco, before his journey was complete.
The Ocean Rover was built in 1854 by Tobey & Littlefield in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It measured 162 feet in length, 43 feet in beam, 23 feet in depth of hold, and 777 tons. Under the command of Captain McLauren F. Pickering, it participated in the trans-Atlantic cotton trade. In 1863 it was sold to owners in Salem, Massachusetts. Later, around 1868, it was sold to a Captain Carlton. On July 18, 1870 it struck a reef in the River Jeganna, Pernambucco, Brazil.
The painting shows the Ocean Rover entering an unidentified English port. There is a storm, and the crew has been ordered aloft to reef the sails so the captain could gain better control of the ship. There is some floating wreckage to the left. In the background towards the left, there is a wooded coast with a church and other buildings.
W. Webb was a British marine painter active from 1860-1895. According to the British marine painting authority A.S. Davidson, W. Webb commonly used Dover as the background in his paintings, although the background of this painting is different than the one usually used. Webb portrayed English sailing vessels exclusively. There is a suspicion that Webb may have been a pseudonym used by Spencer. The water in the painting is similar to Spencer's style.