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Above, "Alice Kimball, " 16 " x 20'', oil on board. The schooner Alice Kimball makes her way north from San Francisco as a loaded steam schooner, a vessel of the type that replaced working schooners like the Kimball, makes her way into the port. The Kimball was built at Little River by Thomas Petersen, a Dane who came to California in 1857 and became the most prolific ship builder on the Mendocino Coast. At left, "Maxim at San Francisco, " 15" x 24 ", oil on board. In this 1880 view, the 117-grosston coastal schooner Max im is shown getting underway off the Vallejo Street Wharf in San Francisco with Nob Hill in the background. Maxim was built by Hans Bendixsen at Fairhaven in J876. Owned by the Caspe r lumber Company, she made numerous voyages along the Pacific Coast until 1907, when she was reported missing on a voyage from San Francisco to Eureka.
of its more spectacular vistas." Surveyor, The research that goes into one of reports dealing with maritime commerce author and maritime historian Captain David's paintings is as time consuming of the period looking for references to Harold Huycke of Seattle concurs with as the actual painting process. His cur- Petersen and the ships he built. It became Kortum: "He is serious about his studies rent focus is on the little "mast and a evident that the builder was virtually of history, especially of the Mendocino half' lumber schooners that braved unknown , but the schooners he created Coast. This includes the shipbuilders, had a wide reputation among seafarthe structures of the sawmms, logging ers for the ir speed and beauty. It Thimgan is a painter of light scenes and, of course, the ships. He has seemed high time for someone to pay -from the warm mellow light of tribute to this forgotten master builder. done some fine research." "Getting the story right is an absoDavid was able to compile a list of early morning, to the intense lutely essential part of my work," David every vessel Petersen built, some explains. "I sort through numerous old sparkle of a mid-afternoon ocean. twenty-three on the Mendocino Coast -Russell Jinishian photographs finding images of absoalone, and to piece together their saillutely gorgeous vessels. Many of the ing histories. Two Petersen flyers , names are unknown, but the attraction is California' s treacherous "dog hole" an- Galatea and Sea Foam, became the fothere. It is kind of like falling in love with chorages. The vessels built by an ob- cus for his latest painting. a beautiful woman and not knowing any- scure Mendocino builder named ThoBorn in Southern California in 1955, thing about her. I have to find out all I can. mas H . Petersen have particularly im- David has been painting most of his life. The many hours spent in sorting out his- pressed David with their beautiful lines Both his mother and father were amateur torical puzzles and occasionally solving a and hard working simplicity. Beginning artists who influenced his early interest small mystery is a painstaking process with photos, David began unraveling a in painting. As a child, his talent shone maze of old newspaper and commercial through in watercolors and pencil that can be immensely rewarding." SEA HISTORY 72, WINTER 1994-95
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