Marsh all Jo hnson was a m ember of the Boston Art C lub (fo unded in 1854) and served on vario us committees within that organization . H e exhibited there from 1880 to 1896 (the year of his father's death) as M arsh all Johnson Jr. , and fro m 1897 to 1909 as Marshall Johnson . It appears he m ay have signed his paintings in that pattern as well- perhaps a ro ugh dating of his frequ ently undated canvases. H e also exhibited at the Natio nal Academ y of D es ign in the years 1886-87 and 1890-9 1, at th e Pennsylvania Academ y of Fine Ar ts in 1887, and at the Art Institute of C hicago in 1900-02, 190 5, 1909, and 19 11. Johnson often portrayed a story or an action of significance in his art. His painting of the Josiah Quincy is a good example. This ship is likely the Josiah Quincy, owned by Curtis & Peabody of Boston , that m ade a famo us run fro m San Francisco to Shanghai in thirty-six days, beating the rest of the clipper Beet by three weeks. Johnson depicted a scene where the ship is scudding, or running before the wind in a heavy sea, carrying m ost of her sail on her fo remast to m inim ize chances of broachi ng. H ands are
Ship Josiah Quincy oil on canvas 24 x 36 inches
COURTESY OF THE BOSTONIAN SOCIETY/o LO STATE HOUSE: OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM CO LLECTION
m anning the main topsail yard, about to tuck in a reef or take in sail. In The Sunburst-Picking up the Pilot, a barque heaves-to, ready to board a pilot. The pilot is shown sitting in the stern of a cutter with rwo oarsmen app roaching the ship from leeward. M eanwhile, the pilo t schooner is head-to-wind, with headsails hauled down but not stowed . The sky and water are saturated with gray from the cloud cover overhead, with the exception of the sunburst itsel f, pushing through the clouds and illuminating the scene. Another painting, England's Warship
Bellerophon, Napoleon's Home after Waterloo Colliding with Ship Cygnet in Gibraltar Harbor, represents a complicated story. In this scene, the ships have collided. Cygnet's jib-boom is broken off and is dangling fro m what's left of the spar, and her headstays are parted . M en are gath ered on her fo redeck and on Bellerophon's port quarter. The tug trails smoke-a steam er. With one exception- the tug-this painting depicts a true story. Napoleon surrendered to the Bri tish on the wes t coast of Fran ce on 15 July 18 15 and was conveyed to Portsmo uth, England, in the
The Sunburst-
Picking up the Pilot oil on canvas 3 0 3Is x 44 inches
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SEA HllSTORY 126, SPRING 2009