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

Frost & Reed, London
Sale: Christie's, London, 13 February 1997, lot 203
Richard Green, London
Purchased from the above by the present owner

L.G.G. Ramsey, Montague Dawson R.S.M.A., F.R.S.A., Leigh-on-Sea, 1967, p. 30, no. 93
R. Ranson, The Maritime Paintings of Montague Dawson, Newton Abbot, 1993, p. 69, illustrated pp. 68-69

'The Glory of the Seas scuds along with glorious light from the skies reflected in the seas all around her.' (Ron Ranson, The Maritime Paintings of Montague Dawson, Newton Abbot, 1993, p. 69)

Often referred to as the last of the American clippers, Glory of the Seas has also been called the first of the Down Easters (by Basil Lubbock in his book The Down Easters). She was a 2,103 ton cargo carrier - the last ship built in the East Boston yard of Donald McKay. Constructed of solid oak, she was so well-built regardless of the cost, that McKay was made bankrupt shortly after her completion. She was especially suited for the Cape Horn trade and had a fifty-year career of service in heavy trade following her launch in October 1869. At her prow was a beautiful figurehead depicting the Goddess Athene with flowing Grecian draperies. On her maiden voyage in 1870, after being christened by McKay's daughter Frances, Glory of the Seas sailed from New York on 14 February laden with 4,000 tons of cargo. She averaged a speed of 161 miles a day and arrived in San Francisco in only 120 days. Upon reaching her destination she was sold - all McKay's ships were built speculatively - to J. Henry Sears of Boston and she began a long and reliable career. Her reputation for durability resulted from the particularly sturdy construction ordered by McKay and from the exceptional handling of her masters - Captain Knowles of Eastham, Massachusetts, followed by Captain Daniel McLaughlin. In addition to her reputation for durability, the Glory of the Seas was widely known for her swiftness, holding the record times in her day for passages from San Francisco to Australia and from New York to San Francisco. In 1873 she made the best passage of her career, making the journey from New York to San Francisco in ninety-six days. There was fierce competition among the grain ships and although the rivalry between the tea clippers was better-known, the Glory of the Seas was often in a race against other ships, such as the equally-prestigious Langdale and Wasdale, to be seen to make good time. In 1885 Glory of the Seas was purchased by Barneson Hibberd and put into service in the Pacific coast coal trade. In her final days the glory that had been hers over her first thirty years suffered some tarnish. In 1911 she was sold again and converted into a floating salmon cannery. After being sold again, she was fitted with an ice plant and converted into a floating refrigeration unit for the storage of fish. In 1913 it was announced that Glory of the Seas was to be burnt and many lovers of the glory age of American shipping campaigned to raise money for her to be saved. She was given a reprieve but in 1923 she was burned for her copper fastenings on a pebble beach named Laurel Beach about five miles from Seattle. The beautiful figurehead was saved and for many years graced the walls of Frances McKay, who had been at Glory of the Seas' launch more than forty years earlier and christened her.