James Wilson Carmichael 1800-1868

Estimate

12,000 - 18,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

James Wilson Carmichael
Sir Martin Frobisher's ships Aid, Michael, and Gabriel on the second voyage to Greenland, 1577
signed l.r.:JW Carmichael / 1835
oil on canvas

Provenance

Maggs Brothers, London;
Evelyn L. Kendall, by whom given in 1964 as part of The Kendall Whaling Museum, Sharon

Literature

M.V. Brewington, Kendall Whaling Museum Paintings, 1965, no.24;
R. Ellis, Men and Whales, 1991, p.50 (illustrated)

Catalogue Note

Sir Martin Frobisher (1535-1594) was a celebrated English explorer who commanded Arctic expeditions in 1576, 1577, and 1578 to search for the North-West passage as a trade route to India and China. The present picture captures the vessels during the second expedition which left Blackwall on 26th May 1577 and reached Frobisher Bay in July. A few days later Frobisher took possession of the country and the south side of the bay in the name of Queen Elizabeth I. He returned carrying over 200 tons of "ore" and a third expedition was eagerly sent the following year. More ore was shipped back from Greenland after this third voyage, but it was not deemed worth smelting, and Frobisher's attempts to find the North-West passage came to an end. Frobisher served as Vice-Admiral under Sir Francis Drake and Hawkins in the battle against the Spanish Armada, and was knighted at sea.