James Edward Buttersworth (1817-1894)
America's Cup Defense, 1885 (Puritan and Genesta)
signed 'J.E. Buttersworth' (lower right)
oil on canvas
12 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. (30.8 x 46 cm.)
Painted in 1885.
Footnotes:
Provenance
North Star Galleries, New York.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

James Edward Buttersworth was one of the foremost American maritime painters who beautifully rendered detailed and dramatic depictions of some of the most famous racing clipper ships, steamers, and yachts in maritime history. His works featured oceanic crossings and prominent displays of sailing vessels of all sizes and historical importance. Buttersworth's most celebrated subjects were those depicting the New York Yacht Club Regatta and the America's Cup race, which he witnessed the first nine defenses of between 1870 and 1893, as well as the associated trial races.

Buttersworth was born into an artistic family in the northwest of London, England in 1817. He studied painting with his father, Thomas Buttersworth, Jr. (1797-1842), who was a respected sea painter of his time. In 1845, Buttersworth sought to make a name for himself in America and emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in what is now Union City, New Jersey, where Buttersworth quickly became a well-established marine artist. His sketches and paintings of yachting competitions provided a definitive, historical record of events and magazines and newspapers often used his works to report on the yachting events of the day. Even the firm Currier and Ives often reproduced Buttersworth's work as lithographs to sell commercially. His reputation soared as he demonstrated his ability to portray faithfully the sailing yachts, steamers, and racing clipper ships of the time.

The present work is believed to be a depiction of the America's Cup Defense of 1885. Visible at left with her white hull is the 19th century racing yacht, Puritan leading the British yacht Genesta at right nearest to the foreground. Puritan was owned and skippered by American businessman and sportsman, John Malcolm Forbes (1847-1904) who led the first of three successful America's Cup defenses. At the order of a Boston syndicate led by Forbes, Puritan was designed by the American yacht designer, Edward Burgess (1848-1891) and was built at the George Lawley & Son shipbuilding yard in South Boston. The Puritan was an early combination of American and English design, incorporating the depth of a cutter, but beam and power of a sloop. Puritan went on to successfully defend the America's Cup against her challenger Genesta in 1885 and the syndicate led by Forbes became a template for successful America's Cup campaign management.

In the present work, Buttersworth adopts an L-shaped composition, placing the action in the middle ground. Butterworth has placed the long, low hull of Puritan parallel to the horizon and focuses attention on the spread of sails that pyramid toward the sky, leading the viewer's eye upward. Buttersworth's mastery as a mature marine painter is on full display in the accurate rigging and lines he portrays, which exhibit his understanding of the vessels he depicts. He captures the tension of the scene by employing a wide range of color and tonal effects to paint a dramatic sky with threatening clouds on the horizon and uses similar effects to paint the choppy sea below to create a deep greenish blue mystery in the foreground. The billowing sails and white crests of foam that Puritan and Genesta produce emphasize their motion and speed.