William G. Yorke

Bark ST. GEORGE off South Stack

Dated 1872

This attractive portrait features the five-masted schooner ELINOR H. at full sail in an active sea. The ship has crisp lines and a sharp sense of detail, likely because it was painte...

A stalwart American ship clearing the Delaware headed for Honolulu with a load of coal, this broadside ship portrait by Alexander Charles Stuart is of the Ship GATHERER. In her maiden year of service, the Bath, Maine-built Downeaster went to New Orleans with hay, took a load of cotton from there to Liverpool, and crossed to collect the coal in Philadelphia before heading to Hawaii. She'd make 8 Cape Horn voyages, averaging about 129 days, a profitable and fast sailing Downeaster, and yet still record one of the bloodiest voyages in merchant maritime history. In this portrait, A.C. Stuart shows the large wooden vessel...

This luminous work depicts the American merchant brigantine E. MILLER. The sun sits low behind the ship, illuminating the sky with colors of yellow and deep rose tones. The sun has just touched the sea at the ship's bow and around her stern, creating a halo of light in the small waves. The E. Miller is in full sail with sailors active on her deck, with her brightly colored name pennant snapping in the wind alongside the American flag and company flag. Though unsigned, this is clearly the work of artist Elisha Tyler Baker. Baker only signed about a third of his paintings, so this is not unusual for the artist. The rendering of the vessel to his touch in the sea and sky all give very clear clues that the work is his. Though little information remains about her voyages we know the ship E. MILLER was built in Virginia by the Surry Company in 1856 and had a weight of 132 tons. Sailing out of Richmond she was also known to frequent the port of Baltimore. From Richmond she would have carried out agricultural goods, lumber, and iron, while importing manufactured goods and guano to fertilize Virginia's tobacco fields. Given that she was built before the Civil War and was ported in Richmond throughout the war, it's likely the E. MILLER was involved in moving goods to supply Confederate forces. Sight Size: 23 3/4 x 32 Inches Vallejo Gallery features the finest in marine and maritime antiques...

With a great view of the city of Naples off her bow and Mount Vesuvius off her stern there's no doubt where this Baltimore Clipper Brig is located. This very well executed portrait has great detail of the port and ship with great coloration throughout and great reflections of the ship on the water. The ship is shown in full sail with flags flying. The ship was owned and Captained by Griffith Jones, a Welshman born 1831. Port Madoc refers to the Welsh City of Porthmadog- it was spelled Portmadoc before 1974. Her sloped bow and stern along with her size are typical of a Baltimore Clipper but her masts are not as raked as often seen in ships of this design and she is square rigged, though there are historical paintings and drawings of other Baltimore Clippers built in this way. Most of what we know about the Brig EPHRATAH is due to the famous wreck of her sister ship FROLIC, though FROLIC was built much earlier. FROLIC is considered the most important wreck on the West Coast of the United States. Dr. Tom Layton of Stanford University connected the two ships in his research on FROLIC.  EPHRATAH was slightly larger than FROLIC at 230 tons, 152’ with a breadth of 22’. She was built in 1873 for Griffith Jones & Co. who would also sail as her master. Jones was Welsh by birth, born in 1831 in Llannor.  FROLIC was built in Baltimore's Gardner Brothers shipyard for the Opium Trade. When steamers came along in the late 1850's it was perfect timing for FROLIC to switch to the busy California trade, fueled by the new California Gold Rush. FROLIC was carrying a rich cargo when she was shipwrecked off Point Cabrillo, California in 1850. When it was discovered in the 1980's the wreck...

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...

Oil on canvas signed in the lower right corner. This painting depicts an American clipper ship with a pilot in the English Channel. The dimensi...

Artist: John Batchelor Medium: Watercolor and gouache on paper Dimensions: 6.5 x 9.5 in. (sight) Frame Dimensions: 20.25 x 27.25 in. Produced for a series of postcards featuring historic sailing ships...

William Edward Norton (1843 - 1916) Ship Portrait, 1876 Oil on canvas 10 x 16 inches Signed and dated lower left Born in Boston, William Norton became a noted marine painter, stirred by his youth when he sailed on family-owned ships. He studied at the Lowell Institute in Boston, and with George Inness, and then established a studio in Boston. In the early 1870s, he went to Paris and became a student with Chevreuse and A. Vollon, and then he settled in London where he exhibited throughout the last quarter of the 19th century. His reputation there was based on his scenes of the Thames River, and ocean and coastal views. In 1901, he and his wife returned to the United States and settled in New York City. He also painted at Monhegan Island, Maine, where a treacherous ledge on the southern side of the island is named "Norton's Ledge" for him. He was a member of the Boston Art Club with whom he exhibited from 1873 to 1909. He also exhibited with the Pennsylvania Academy, the Royal Academy in London, the Paris Salon, the 1893 Chicago Exposition...