J.E.B. Maritime Oil Paintings of Clipper Ships Challenge and Flying Cloud, 1876

Item Details

Challenge, 1876 and Flying Cloud, 1876
Oil on canvas
Signed “J.E.B.” to the verso
Inscriptions on verso

The clipper ship ‘Challenge’ was one of 31 clippers launched for the San Francisco gold rush in 1851. At the time it was the largest merchant ship built in the United States. Captain Robert H. Waterman was accused of cruelty by his crew and was nearly lynched when the ship docked in San Francisco. After that he is said to have left sailing and turned to religion.

The ‘Flying Cloud’ was built by Donald McKay in 1851 at his east Boston yard. Later that summer the clipper sailed from New York to San Francisco in a record breaking 89 days, 21 hours. Three years later, the ship broke its own record by making the same trip in 89 days, 8 hours, a feat that would not be bested for another 135 years. While Captain James Nicol Forbes (1821-1874) was a successful captain who commanded a number of English and American ships, he is not associated with the ‘Flying Cloud.’

Condition

- areas of discoloration; in-painting throughout; craquelure throughout; billowing to canvas; repairs to verso; stretcher abrasions; canvases are relined; wear to frames; discolorations to verso.

Dimensions

- measures one; both measure the same.

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Item #

ITMGQ35632