WILLIAM HOWARD YORKE
Canada/United Kingdom, 1847-1921
American ship Grandee off Holyhead, Wales. Signed and dated lower left "W.H. Yorke L'Pool 1874".
Oil on canvas, 24" x 36". Framed 32.75" x 44.5".
Provenance:
Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1991.
The Kelton Collection of Marine Art & Artifacts.

Literature:
See American Merchant Ships 1850-1900 by Frederick C. Mathews (Salem: Marine Research Society, 1930-31), p.135 for a similar work by Yorke with historical text on the vessel.

Notes:
This is a relatively early work for the artist, painted when he was age 27 after his father had permanently left for America. It depicts Grandee, built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1874, off Anglesey in North Wales, with South Stack and Holyhead Mountain seen beneath her bowsprit. Yorke has added details such as Captain Jacobs, who commanded Grandee throughout her career, holding the hand of a young boy, likely his son, on the after-cabin top, as well as the intent posture of the helmsman and bow lookout and the decoration on the aft-cabin entrance.

Grandee's maiden voyage was from New York to Callao (84 days), Callao to San Francisco (37 days), and San Francisco to Liverpool (118 days). For most of her later career her operations were in Australia and the Far East, in the case oil trade. In 1893 Grandee was sold to the Dominion Coal Company of Sydney, Cape Breton and she finished her days in the Canadian Maritimes as coal barge. She disappeared from the Canadian Registers in 1912.

One patch repair made to canvas, with some minimal other paint restoration visible under UV light. Minor craquelure. The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their
age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction.