Racing Yacht Cygnet

Details

ARCHIBALD CARY SMITH (1837-1911)
Racing Yacht Cygnet
signed and dated twice 'A. Cary Smith..80' (lower left)—inscribed 'Yacht Cygnet./S.Y.C/Walter L. Suydam/Owner/1876 to 1880.' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
15 x 24 ¼ in. (38.1 x 61.6 cm.)
Painted in 1880.

Provenance

Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2015.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Archibald Cary Smith began his career as a shipbuilder, before following in the footsteps of his father, the ship-portrait painter Joseph B. Smith, and studying painting under the Dutch-American artist Mauritz F.H. de Haas. Smith's firsthand experience designing yachts informs his detailed ship paintings, such as the present work depicting the racing yacht Cygnet. In the present work, the foremast flies the flag of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Long Island, New York, where Smith had been commissioned as a yacht designer.

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