A Belfast colonial clipper, possibly the Slieve Donard, approaching Liverpool

細節

Duncan McFarlane (fl.1853-1870)
A Belfast colonial clipper, possibly the Slieve Donard, approaching Liverpool
oil on board, in decorative cartouche
14½ x 25¾ in. (36.8 x 65.4 cm.)

出版

¹Fairbairn's Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, published by Charles E. Tuttle, 1968, Rutland, Vermont, U.S.A.
²The Marine Collection at India House, New York, published by Wesleyan University Press, 1973, the U.S. ship Parthenia, p. 90, pl. 57.
Across the Western Ocean, catalogue of an exhibition in 1995 at the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., the U.S. ship Britannia approaching the Mersey, ill. no. 22.
³Anthony Tibbles's Illustrated catalogue of Marine Paintings, Merseyside Museum, published by Jones-Sands Publishing, 1999, ill. p. 157.

注意事項

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拍品專文

This most unusual painting incorporates a painted ornamental border surmounted by the armorial crest and motto of James Sinclair of Holy Hill, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, a principal in the firm of J. & T. Sinclair¹. One of Belfast's largest sailing ship owners in the mid-nineteenth century, they were famous for their 'colonial clippers' which served the passenger trade to America, Australia, India and the West Indies.
In keeping with the topography of the central composition, the bulk of such passengers were often embarked at Liverpool. A typical Belfast 'colonial clipper', possibly the Slieve Donard, is depicted off the north Wirral coast identified by the Perch Rock fort and lighthouse. Visible on the left of the painting, these mark the entrance to the Mersey estuary. The same background and almost identical supporting features occur in at least two other paintings² by the Liverpool marine artist, Duncan McFarlane.

In addition to this painting with its unique ornamental mount, Duncan McFarlane painted a portrait of another Sinclair owned ship, the Sardinia, displaying the same distinctive houseflag at the main masthead, and the English national flag at the foremast³.
Christie's are grateful to Sam Davidson for his notes accompanying this lot and for his attribution to Duncan McFarlane.