Edit Object 483

This work is a striking symbioses of color and facts by premier marine artist James E. Buttersworth. The three-masted merchant schooner is shown sailing on approach to the greater New York bay area, driven with all available canvas. The luminous glow of a late afternoon emboldens the sails and sky, and the crisp details offer a view of the east coast which is much changed today.

The soft tonal variation and subtle textures in this painting show the influence of the artist's father, Thomas Buttersworth, also a well regarded artist. The sharp detail and gracefully drawn hull line of the North Belleville, New Jersey-built schooner, with its early 1866 white hull are perfect. The flags are all clearly visible. Her name pennant on the fore, with an American flag and commissioning pennant on the main indicate government service, possibly as a mail carrier after the civil war. The houseflag or private signal aft is eerily like that of the famous Boston clipper, Gamecock. Harry Landell registered a home port of Newark. Perhaps a captain in common at the schooner's helm, or merely a similar flag, followed by the American ensign on the mizzen gaff boom?

The northeast atlantic shore of New Jersey houses several lights, but these are most likely the earliest incarnations of sandy hook light and south stack on the point. The other location option is the Conover Beacon in the city of Leanardo, and its counterpart, the Chapel Hill Lighthouse. Together they marked the main channel range into Sandy Hook Bay. Sailing on, the schooner makes for the environs of New York, where Buttersworth's business thrived.

Select a Type
American Ship Portrait
Barometers
Bells
Binnacles & Compasses
Binoculars
Book Maritime
Book Voyages
Books
Books General
Boylhart Collection
Builders Full Models
Builders Half-Model
Canes - Decorative
Canes - Gimmick
Cannons
Carving
Chronometers
Clocks
Contemporary Art
Contemporary Models
Decorative Art - Boxes
Dieppe Models
Diorama Models
Diving Helmets & Equipment
Dockyard Models
Edged Weapons
Engravings
Figureheads
Firearms
Fishing Equipment
Folk Art Models
Furniture
Glass and Pottery
Globes
Jewelry
Joe & Lisa's Art Collection
Lamps
Letters
Lighthouse Artifacts
Limited-Edition Prints
Lithographs
Maps & Charts
Marine Narrative
Marine Narrative at Sea
Medical
Microscopes
Miscellaneous Artifacts
Navigation Instruments - Compass
Navigation Instruments
Navigation Instruments - Sextant
Octants, Quadrants & Backstaffs
Original art
Other Models
Painted Photograph
Passenger Liner Memorabilia
Patent Models
Period Models
Photographs
Pond Models
Pottery
Prints
Prisoner-of-War Artifacts
Prisoner-of-War Models
Sailor Crafts
Sailor Valentines
Sailor Woolworks
Scrimshaw Artifacts
Scrimshaw Private
Scrimshaw Teeth
Sea Chests
Sextants
Ship Clocks
Ship Hardwares
Ship in a Bottle
Ship Log Books
Ships Flogging Whip
Signed Documents
Silver and Silver Plated Models
Speaking Trumpets
Statues
Steam Engine Models
Steam Models
Sundials
Sword
Tankards & Pitchers
Telescopes
Tillers, Rudders & Yokes
Toy Models
Trinity Boxes
Trophys & Presentions
Voyages & Travels
Watches
Whaling