American School, 19th c
American School, 19th c ., "The Delta Queen", oil on canvas, unsigned, titled and inscribed en verso, 14 1/8 in. x 36 1/8 in., framed “A stranger to this mode of travelling would find it difficult to describe his impressions upon descending the Mississippi for the first time in one of these steam boats…the fare is sumptuous and everything is in style of splendor, order, and regularity, far exceeding that of most city taverns.” -Timothy Flint, History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley, 1832/ An exciting body of work by a previously undocumented 19th century maritime artist specializing in the portraiture of paddlewheelers has recently been identified. These steamboats hold a special place in the history and culture of the South. Historically, they were the main commercial and transportation portal of the South via the Mississippi River, allowing people and goods to be connected with neighboring states previously isolated. Culturally, they embodied a new era of progress and luxury transportation prior to the interstate highway and rail systems. Powered by a steam engine and propelled with stern or side wheels, paddlewheelers were sometimes deemed “floating palaces,” often drawing a crowd to the dock with their luxurious design and entertainment.
Six paintings of paddllewheelers have been identified by the hand of this artist: the “Eclipse,” “Eleanora,” “Fuegla,” “New Orleans River Company Express,” “Challenge,” and the “Bayou Belle.” With the “Delta Queen” and the aforementioned portraits, the artist works in a meticulous fashion with extreme attention to the details of the figures, railings, and ship accessories. The stylized renderings make this artist’s hand easy to identify, and the materials used and style of ship depicted dates this artist to roughly the 1870s.
Ref.: Busch, Jason T., et al. Currents of Change: Art and Life Along the Mississippi River 1850-1861. Minneapolis, MN: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Press, 2004
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American School, 19th c ., "The Delta Queen", oil on canvas, unsigned, titled and inscribed en verso, 14 1/8 in. x 36 1/8 in., framed “A stranger to this mode of travelling would find it difficult to describe his impressions upon descending the Mississippi for the first time in one of these steam boats…the fare is sumptuous and everything is in style of splendor, order, and regularity, far exceeding that of most city taverns.” -Timothy Flint, History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley, 1832/ An exciting body of work by a previously undocumented 19th century maritime artist specializing in the portraiture of paddlewheelers has recently been identified. These steamboats hold a special place in the history and culture of the South. Historically, they were the main commercial and transportation portal of the South via the Mississippi River, allowing people and goods to be connected with neighboring states previously isolated. Culturally, they embodied a new era of progress and luxury transportation prior to the interstate highway and rail systems. Powered by a steam engine and propelled with stern or side wheels, paddlewheelers were sometimes deemed “floating palaces,” often drawing a crowd to the dock with their luxurious design and entertainment.
Six paintings of paddllewheelers have been identified by the hand of this artist: the “Eclipse,” “Eleanora,” “Fuegla,” “New Orleans River Company Express,” “Challenge,” and the “Bayou Belle.” With the “Delta Queen” and the aforementioned portraits, the artist works in a meticulous fashion with extreme attention to the details of the figures, railings, and ship accessories. The stylized renderings make this artist’s hand easy to identify, and the materials used and style of ship depicted dates this artist to roughly the 1870s.
Ref.: Busch, Jason T., et al. Currents of Change: Art and Life Along the Mississippi River 1850-1861. Minneapolis, MN: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Press, 2004
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