England's Warship Bellerophon, Napoleon's Home after Waterloo, Colliding with Ship Cygnet in Gibraltar Harbor oil on canvas, 23 x 35 inches Bellerophon. After three weeks there, he was transferred to the Northumberland, which ultimately transported him to St. Helena. In this scene, however, the existence of a steam tug in 1815 (or 1805 when Befferophon last visited Gibraltar) is unlikely. Befferophon was broken up long before Johnson's 1887 visit to England. 12 The second Befferophon, originally Waterloo, built in 1818 and renamed in 1824, was retired as a hulk and became a receiving ship in 1856. Author and former curator of Greenwich Museum, David Cordingly, wrote that this ship "was frequently mistaken for the more famous "Billy Ruffian" [first Befferophon] and the locals would tell rourists visiting Portsmouth that she was the ship which had taken the surrender ofNapoleon." 13 Despite the anachronistic tug, Johnso n painted a highly detailed, compelling and rare, nighttime scene. Marshall Johnson died of heart failure in 1921; he had been dead for some time when his body was found on 21 March. He left no survivors except a cousin. Johnson had been in poor health for some time, and his neighbors
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"considered [him] a hermit." Ultimately, a light constantly on and unretrieved mail aroused suspicion and neighbors called the police. Apparently, only one room and a bathroom at his residence had been used since the death of his sister in 1917. The living room furniture, "of fine quality, had not been moved, but was overlaid with a powdery film of dust, so thick and even that the pattern of the upholstery and the carpet could not be distinguished." 14 The medical examiner estimated he had been dead several days. The examiner also ordered Johnson's 15 India Street studio closed. At the time of his death, more than 125 paintings, most unframed, were in his possession. Two bear notice: USS Constitution and Ship Afire at Sea. These two paintings, the first universally recognized and the second little known-an image seared inro his memory as a yo ung man-are bookends to his life's work. Quite appropriately, they remained with him to his end. ,!, Afan Fraser Houston, a graduate of Amherst College and Boston University Schoof of Medicine, served in the US Navy from
1970 to 1972. He and his wife, Jou rdan, are devotees of the Boston Art Club's founding members. Their articles have appeared singly and jointly in American Art Review, Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Cal ifornia History, and other historical publications. They currently reside in Durango, Colorado.
NOTES 1 Boston Daily Globe, 22 March 1921 , p3. 2 Boston Daily Evening Transcript, 17 March 1921, and Globe, March 22, 1921 . 3Log 147; Journal, Charles W Mo rgan, 1867-1870, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport. 4 Transcript, 22 March 1921. 5Boston Herald, 22 March 1921. 6 Herafd, 25 March 1923. 7 Transcript, 26 October 1881 , p 7. 8 Transcript, 9 February 1883, p6. 9 Transcript, 11December1885, p6. 10 Transcript, 9 April 1886, p6. 11 Gfobe, May 5, 1899, p8. 12 Passenger List, Boston, 13 Sept. 1887. 13 David Cord ingly to A. F. Housto n, personal communication, 14 April 2004. 14 Gfobe, 22 March 1921, p3.
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