Robert Malcolm Rucker
(American/Louisiana, 1932-2001)

"New Orleans Anchor Line's 'Steamboat Baton Rouge' at Port of Baton Rouge"

oil on canvas
signed lower right.
Framed.
20" x 24" (oval), framed 27" x 32"

Notes: While recovering from polio as a teenager, Robert Malcolm Rucker received a grant to study at the John McCrady Art School in the French Quarter and became a prominent New Orleans artist. As the son of a steamboat captain, Rucker had a fascination with 19th-century steamboats which he painted with historical accuracy.
From 1859 to 1898, The Anchor Line operated a fleet of steamboats that traversed the Mississippi River between St. Louis and New Orleans transporting people and goods. The Anchor Line was known for their well-designed and constructed steamboats that were referred to as "floating palaces". Instead of naming their steamboats after prominent people, the Anchor Line named their steamboats after the cities along their route.

Vertical area of paint loss mid right (sky); no signs of past restorations; surface dirt and toning of the varnish layer. Antique gilt frame: signs of past restorations; losses lower left corner; horizontal cracks in wooden liner.