Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Richard Ball Spencer
British, (1812-1897)
The Perthshire off Ailsa Craig
Oil on canvas, signed
Image size: 22.25 inches x 36.25 inches
Size including frame: 31 inches x 45 inches
This painting by Richard Ball Spencer is of the Perthshire, a three-masted barque sailing off Ailsa Craig. The Perthshire was built in Dundee in 1874 and was owned by Thomas Law of 123 Hope Street, Glasgow. The red ensign flying on the mizzenmast indicates it was a British merchant or passenger ship. The owner may well have commissioned the painting to commemorate its maiden voyage. Ailsa Craig, pictured to the far left, is a small uninhabited island off the west mainland of Scotland in the outer Firth of Clyde. The island is made up of volcanic rock which was quarried in the past and is now only used as a source of microgranite to make curling stones. The island is known by a number of different names including A' Chreag (the rock) and Creag Alasdair (Alasdair's rock). It was also sometimes referred to in the past as ‘Paddy’s Milestone’ as it marked the halfway of the sea journey Belfast to Glasgow made by Irish Emigrants seeking work.
Richard Ball Spencer was born in London’s East End on 11 November, 1812 to John and Elizabeth Ball. His father was a grocer and the family lived at 106 York Road in Mile End. Both Richard and his brother Thomas were given their mother’s maiden name as their middle names.
By 1841, he had established himself as a marine painter specialising in ship portraits and was influenced by artists such as Joseph Heard (1799-1859), William John Huggins (1781-1845) and Robert Salmon (c1775-1845). He spent his time travelling to trading ports around the British coast as well as the nearby London docks of Brunswick Wharf and the Isle of...
Category
19th Century Victorian Edward Matthews Art
