Well painted original watercolour ship portrait, painted circa 1960.
'Sovereign of the Seas', the record breaking American Clipper Ship, off shore in a heavy squall.
With inscription line: '"Sovereign of the Seas" built in 1852 at East Boston, 2420 ton, Master Lauchlan McKay'.
Unsigned. This watercolour is very hard to date - it may have been cleaned at some point, as the paper looks very fresh, but the original backing sheet has a strong, age-toned shadow of the ship on it (see photo). It is certainly not 19th century and most likely mid to late 20th century, but a handsome painting nevertheless and clearly by an accomplished hand.
Watercolour and gouache on heavy wove paper, in an early 20th century 'ebonised' finish, cushion profile wood frame, with new acid free mount and backing.
Watercolour in excellent condition, with strong, fresh colour (see photos). Frame with some nicks and scratches, mount new (see photos).
Image 33cm x 55cm, frame 55cm x 77cm.
Comes with our Certificate of Authenticity - guaranteed authentic and original.
Delivered ready to hang.
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Sovereign of the Seas, a clipper ship built in 1852,
was a sailing vessel notable for setting the world record for fastest sailing
ship—22 knots.
Built by Donald McKay of East Boston, Massachusetts,
Sovereign of the Seas was the first ship to travel more than 400 nautical miles
in 24 hours. On the second leg of her maiden voyage, she made a record passage
from Honolulu, Hawaii, to New York City in 82 days. She then broke the record
to Liverpool, England, making the passage in 13 days 13.5 hours.
Launched on 19th June 1852 at the shipyard of Donald McKay,
East Boston, MA, USA, for his own account. Built on speculation and sold to
Andrew F. Meinke of the ship broker firm Funch & Meinke, New York. From her
maiden voyage until 1853 she was in the command of Captain Lauchlan McKay. In
1853 she was chartered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line, Liverpool for
the Australia trade.
In 1854, Sovereign of the Seas recorded the fastest speed
for a sailing ship, logging 22 knots (41 km/h, 25 mph).
She ran aground on the Pyramid Shoal in the Strait of
Malacca, becoming a total loss, on a voyage from Hamburg to China, 6th
August 1859.