Lot 86
  • 86

Montague Dawson R.S.M.A., F.R.S.A.

Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 USD
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Description

  • Montague Dawson R.S.M.A., F.R.S.A.
  • Racing Home, the China Clippers Chrysolite and Stornoway Almost Neck-and-Neck
  • signed MONTAGUE DAWSON (lower right); inscribed "The RIVALS"/ The race of the Chrysolite + Stornoway (on the stretcher)
  • oil on canvas
  • 28 by 42 in.
  • 71.1 by 106.8 cm

Provenance

Frost & Reed, London (acquired directly from the artist)
Private Collection, United States
Private Collection (and sold, Christie’s, New York, July 25, 2007, lot 283, illustrated)
MacConnal-Mason, London

Condition

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work has been restored and is in lovely condition. The canvas has an effective glue lining. The paint layer is still well textured. The surface has been varnished, but there are no retouches. The work should be hung as is.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Racing Home, the China Clippers Chrysolite and Stornoway Almost Neck-and-Neck is a dramatic realization of the  “tea race” conducted in 1852 between two clipper ships engaged in the Liverpool-China trade. These races pitted the most advanced ships from the docks of Aberdeen and Liverpool, built for speed as well as maximum capacity, with the best captains and crews. A speedy trip home from the far East granted bragging rights to the crew and would enable the owners of the ship to command higher freight fees, resulting in huge sums of money. Tea merchants would offer incentives for fast passages as well, adding a premium of £1 per ton of tea to the first ship to dock. The outcomes of these yearly races were intensely followed by the public, reported in the columns of newspapers throughout the United Kingdom, and many bets were placed on the outcome in London and throughout the ports of Britain (Ron Ranson, The Maritime Paintings of Montague Dawson, Devon, 1993, p. 43).

Chrysolite was built in 1851 by Alexander. Hall & Co. in Aberdeen to the order of Taylor, Potter & Co. of Liverpool. Launched in March 1851, she measured 156 feet in length with a 29 foot beam and was registered at 564 tons. Her maiden voyage was heralded in the Aberdeen Journal as a spectacular success, noting that she returned to port in seven months and six days, the quickest passage recorded at the time, despite the loss of at least seven men who left the ship in China (Aberdeen Journal, December 10, 1851). The 1852 season dawned with her greatest competition the Stornoway, a product of the same yard in Aberdeen and belonging to the famed merchant trading house of Jardine, Matheson & Co. Close in size to the Chrysolite, measuring 158 feet in length with a 29 foot beam and registered at 527 tons, the Stornoway  had been built in 1850 for speed but not necessarily to break records.

While the majority of Montague Dawson’s works take place on the high seas, Racing Home is a rare composition with a shipboard perspective, focused on the men who propelled these ships around the world. Life on a clipper could be harsh and dangerous; even under a bright blue sky, the weight and surging power of the waves is tangible. Dawson's rigorous attention to nautical detail is on full display, from the visible seams in the full sails to the complex rigging, emphasizing the verticality of the ship, to the Chrysolite's figurehead and name plate visible at lower left. The three crewmen on the aft quarter deck seem assured of their victory, relaxed and confident despite the fact that, as the crew member at right gestures, the Stornoway is within sight. The crew, as Dawson knew, had little to fear; as announced in The Guardian of London on October 27, 1852, after departing Canton within 8 hours of each other in July 1852, the Chrysolite arrived to the Liverpool docks after a 104 day journey, beating the Stornoway and all other ships that season to deliver her haul of tea.