Original artwork description:

A very traditional oil on linen canvas depicting this fine classic tea clipper in the environment where she earned her reputation. Painted in an accurate representational style typical of the finest marine painting of the last century.

The most famous of all clipper ships, launched in 1869 the Cutty Sark combined aesthetic beauty with practical commerce. Designed by Hercules Linton and commissioned by the London ship owner Captain John Willis to challenge the notorious clipper ship Thermopylae. Named after the ´cutty sark´ the short shirt worn by the legendary witch Nannie in Robert Burns´ poem Tom o´Shanter. The figure head of the Cutty Sark depicts Nannie´s outstretched arm reaching for the tail of Tom o´Shanter´s grey mare as he tries to escape from the witch by crossing over water.

The tea clippers found their fame racing back from China with tea. Although the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the resulting shorter voyage for steamships curtailed that lucrative trade for the tea clippers. The Cutty Sark carried her last cargo of tea in 1877. After that she carried a variety of cargoes, notably bringing wool back from Australia and circumnavigating the globe on those often remarkably fast voyages.

The Cutty Sark is the only surviving clipper ship and has been preserved in dry dock in Greenwich, London since the 1950s. Also perhaps testimony to her longevity was the high spec of her construction, although she did on several occasions lose her rudder!

Framed and ready to hang. Frame is painted white wood with a natural wood surround. Could be supplied without the frame, please message for price reduction.

Materials used:

professional quality oil paint on linen canvas over a sturdy stretcher

Tags:

#boats #london #greenwich #blue sky #deep blue #cutty sark #marine painting #dramatic seascape #tall ships #sailing ships #old ships #ocean sailing #famous ships #iconic ships #cape horners