"Packet ship United States, 1817," by Robert Salmon( 1775-ca.1845 ). This vessel, named for the US frigate launched in Philadelphia in 1797, is identified on her nameboard and the lower foretopsail, constituting one of the relatively f ew instances in which Salmon so clearly identifies a specific vessel. The ship is shown in three views,
undeniable, and he is often embraced as a progenitor of the American marine art tradition. Unlike Salmon, other Liverpool artists in the exhibition never traveled to America. Their perceptions of American maritime commerce are presented exclusively through these depictions of ships entering and departing Liverpool harbor. Nonetheless, artists such as Samuel Walters influenced mid-to-late I 9th-century American marine art through the importation of their works. Samuel Walters was a professional painter whose early works were in collaboration with his father Miles. Gradually, the skills of the son exceeded those of the father, and Samuel became the most acclaimed and prolific painter in the port. Duncan Mcfarlane moved from Scotland and gained some fame among foreign ship owners, particularly those of Enoch Train 's White Diamond Line out of Boston. His pictures are regularly signed and dated prominently in a comer in boldface print, a sign that he wanted viewers to remember his name. The Yorke family, William G. and his son William H., emigrated from St. John, New Brunswick, to Liverpool in the 1850s to take advantage of the booming business SEA HISTORY 75 , AUTUMN 1995
with sail being progressively reduced from left to right in preparation for anchoring. Salmon moved frequently during his productive life; his decisions to move between Scotland, Liverpool and Boston were based to some extent upon the market for his pictures. Oil on canvas, 21" x 35", Peabody Essex Museum Collection.
for marine painters. The father left for New York in 1871 and the son continued the business in Liverpool for many years. It has really only been in the last decade that William G. and William H. Yorke, stylistically similar but with noticeable distinctions, have been widely recognized as having been two separate artists. Although Walters, Salmon and Mcfarlane are well known in the maritime art world, others have fallen into deep but undeserved obscurity. Some Liverpool artists sold their paintings through a dealer who would affix his labels to the backs of the works. This has led many unsigned paintings to be attributed to an individual named de Silva, who himself may not even have been an artist. Works by the little-known artists John Hughes ( 1806-1878) and William McMinn (1820-1898) display a finish and balance of composition that can only be the product of utter comfort with their subject matter. These artists traditionally have been lumped together as "style of Walters," and many as "attributed to Walters"-Walters' name being used to represent the entire school more than anything else. Though little is known about their lives, names on the occasionally signed works are just now being
The splendid performance of the big American packets is caught in the pride and authority reflected in their portraits.
27