Julian Nemethy

Transport

1988

Signed lower right & dated 1879. Antonio Jacobsen’s painting of the Thingvalla (a shipping line between Scandinavia and the United States) is a masterclass in maritime artistry, showcasing his signature crisp brushwork and dynamic composition. Jacobsen’s strokes are precise yet expressive, capturing the texture of the ship’s hull and the shimmering movement of the water. The fine detailing in the rigging and smokestack demonstrates his meticulous approach. • The Thingvalla appears to surge forward, cutting through the waves with a palpable sense of momentum. The artist’s use of diagonal lines and the tilt of the vessel enhances the illusion of motion. Jacobsen’s ability to balance realism with artistic flair ensures that the Thingvalla feels alive, as if caught mid-voyage. Bio: Antonio Jacobsen, America's folk art hero recognized for his unsurpassed contributions to America's maritime history, recorded domestic and international ships as they passed through the age of sail to steam. He was a prolific painter and throughout his life painted an estimated 6000 paintings. Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2 November 1850, where, for generations his family had been violin makers. His father encouraged him to practice a similar craft. At an early age he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Design in Copenhagen, however, reversed family fortunes forced him to withdraw. At the age 18 it was compulsory for him to join the Danish military forces, but he decided instead, to sail for America. He left his family behind and arrived in New York in the early 1870's. Like many other immigrants, he went to New York City's Battery Park looking for work. He passed his days sketching the ships that sailed in and out of the harbor. Not before long a representative from Marvin Safe Company noticed his drawings and offered him a job decorating safes. His ability as an artist was further recognized as he began to receive commissions from sea captains and ship owners and eventually Steamship companies, to record their entire fleet. The Old Dominion Line, The Fall River Line and The White Star Line are some of the steamship companies that commissioned him to paint portraits of all the ship in their respective fleets. In addition, the Clyde Line, the Black Ball Line...

Signed lower left Landscape and figure painter William Partridge Burpee was born in Rockland, Maine on April 13, 1846. As a young man, he was educated in Rockland schools and in the Kents Hill Academy in Readfield, Maine. He exhibited a great deal of interest as a youth in painting and drawing, In the late 1870s, he studied with marine painter, William Bradford (1823-1894). Burpee's early work of the 1880s reflects Bradford's influence as well as other painters such as Martin Johnson Heade, Fitz Hugh Lane, Frederic Edwin Church, A. T. Bricher and F. A. Silva. After briefly advertising himself as an artist in the Rockland City Directory in 1882, Burpee appeared that year in Boston. By September 1, 1885, he was painting figures on Lynn Beach...

This vivid oil on board, signed by Abraham P. Hankins, showcases the artist's engagement with urban and industrial themes. Titled Tugboat, the work captures a bold red tugboat positi...

Pair of Portraits, attributed to the Prior-Hamblen School American, ca. 1840–1855 The painting is not signed Oil on panel, housed in original gilt frames with patterned borders This...

Oil on panel by George Nemethy, signed lower right. This piece measures 16.25 x 18.25 inches including the frame, panel measures 8 x 10 inches and features the Sidewheeler Scott cru...

Attributed to Hin Qua (Chinese, 19th Century) Signed in pencil to the verso Marine Arts Company attribution label to verso Stamp referring to restoration treatment by Gustav D. Kli...

An original 19th Century Steamboat Woolie 12" x 15.5" Medium: wool

“Of the return voyage there is nothing to tell… In 1912 all the world learned that the brave Norwegian Amundsen had reached the South Pole; and then, much l...