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Unusually large size oil on canvas depicting two views of the American Ship "Star of New York" signed and dated Walters 1838 l.r. The ship Star is depicted in Beaumaris Bay North Wales and awaiting a pilot to bring the ship into Liverpool harbor. The painting has exceptional detail and is a fine early example of a mature Samuel Walters' painting. The black hull has a clearly defined billethead on the bow with vine like decoration below. The vessel's name "STAR" appears crisply on the bow mounted quarterboard. The hull has false painted gunports which was typical for American merchant ships of this period. What is atypical however, is the appearance of an open gunport located in the bulwarks just foward of the main mast. The open hatch has red sides showing a what is proably a signal cannon with a black barrel protruding out the hatch.  There are several colorfully dressed crew on deck in fact the back of one crew members legs are visable through the cannon hatch. Just to the rear of the main mast is an opening in the bulwarks featuring a pair of gangway boards with one showing a gilded eagle carving on the right sided gangway board. Neither the signal cannon or the gangway boards are details we have seen before in any ship's portrait. The rigging is very detailed as are the sails, seams and reef points. The Union Jack is flying at the peak of the fore mast, the red and blue house flag with a white star from the main mast and three signal flags from the rear mast and the American flag waving off the gaff. To the left is a highly detailed second view of the ship "Star"  sailing away from the viewer at an angle towards land. On the stern is a decorative sternboard eagle above a row of six windows which is above the text "STAR OF NEW YORK." The signal flags on the stern view match the port profile main view of the "Star." There are a few other sailing vessels in the background to the left and a steamer to the right. The sea is a bit choppy and is beautifully highlighted around the bow, a common element found in Samuel Walters' paintings. The sky is brightly painted with light blue and has puffy white clouds with pink highlights. This is the largest example of a Walters' painting of an American sailing ship that we have come across. There are two larger known paintings that measure about 60 inches. One depicting the American steamboat "Atlantic" departing Liverpool in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum and the other depicting the English sailing ship "Euphrates" arriving off Cape Town that is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum. This 38 x 60 inch work is signed and dated 1835. The Euphrates is a magnificent work and may be considered Walters masterwork.  (PA-982)
Reference 1: "Samuel Walters-Marine Artist Fifty Years of Sea, Sail, & Steam" by A.S. Davidson, published in Great Britain by Jones-Sands Publishing, 1992, Coventry. Samuel grew up near London and moved to Liverpool in 1830 when it was recorded he exhibited at the Liverpool Academy.  
Reference 2: "Marine Art & Liverpool Painters, Places & Flag Codes 1760-1960" by A.S. Davidson, published in 1986 by Wayne Research Wolverhampton. Samuel who was taught marine painting by his father Myles was well launched in his career as a professional marine painter and has become probably the most esteemed artist of the "Liverpool School" which included many talented ship painters.
Reference 3: "Across the Western Ocean: American Ships by Liverpool Artists" by Daniel Finamore, published by the Peabody Essex Museum Collections, Volume 131, Number 1 in 1995. On page 46, there is a very similar painting illustrated also painted in 1833 of a somewhat smaller size of the Red Star Line American Packet ship "Virginian" arriving in Liverpool off the mouth of the Mercy. Both pictures have similar port  views of similar period ships with proportionally and compositionally similar renderings of the second stern view of the ship featured on the left of the canvas. 
Note: Star was difficult to trace because of the early 1838 date, and lack of official records, so I had to work from newspaper accounts. I found a Star that was built in the early 1820s, but she was involved in the Chinese trade exclusively as far as I could see, so that vessel was ruled out. Another Star hailed from Philadelphia. Yet another was only in the West Indies trade. 
But, I am fairly certain that I have found the right one if you can look again at the date on the painting and make that 1833 into a 1838 or an 1839! See the attachment for a good starting year. I have a 600 ton burthen (see other attachment), but no other dimensions for this vessel, but I think that advertisement infers that she was built in New York City ( probably Brooklyn) and berthed regularly at the Pine St. wharf.
Note: Star was captained and owned by S. E. Glover, with one voyage in 1838 to New Orleans under a Captain Mallet. The advertisement in the attachment shows Rawson and Murray as agents, but I also found Glover and Murray listed in other ads.
In ads for voyages to NOLA and/ or Liverpool dating from 1838 the agent is J. Herdman & Co. (d.b.a as J.Herdman Keenan & Co. in Liverpool and Ireland. She picked up cargo of cotton in NOLA for Liverpool, and emigrants for New York. I found voyages to Liverpool at least once a year from 1838 onward until 1845, nothing after that.
I could find no information on the burgee being flown, but someday perhaps... Of the signal flags, the top one is unrecognizeable, but the two repeated are "2", from Watson's signals. In other paintings I  have seen the one on the fore as calling for a pilot.
Note provided by Joanie Ingraham Research Assistant at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.
Condition: The painting was cleaned and wax lined about 35 years ago. There is only a small mount of scattered in-paint. The painting retains its original stretcher and gold leaf frame. There are a few minor surface loses to pieces of the frame which has its original gold leaf surface.
Dimensions of painting: Height 33, Width 48 inches.
Dimensions of frame: Height 41 1/2, Width 56 3/8 inches.

Reference 1: "Samuel Walters-Marine Artist Fifty Years of Sea, Sail, & Steam" by A.S. Davidson, published in Great Britain by Jones-Sands Publishing, 1992, Coventry. Samuel grew up near London and moved to Liverpool in 1830 when it was recorded he exhibited at the Liverpool Academy.  
Reference 2: "Marine Art & Liverpool Painters, Places & Flag Codes 1760-1960" by A.S. Davidson, published in 1986 by Wayne Research Wolverhampton. Samuel who was taught marine painting by his father Myles was well launched in his career as a professional marine painter and has become probably the most esteemed artist of the "Liverpool School" which included many talented ship painters.
Reference 3: "Across the Western Ocean: American Ships by Liverpool Artists" by Daniel Finamore, published by the Peabody Essex Museum Collections, Volume 131, Number 1 in 1995. On page 46, there is a very similar painting illustrated also painted in 1833 of a somewhat smaller size of the Red Star Line American Packet ship "Virginian" arriving in Liverpool off the mouth of the Mercy. Both pictures have similar port  views of similar period ships with proportionally and compositionally similar renderings of the second stern view of the ship featured on the left of the canvas. 
Note: Star was difficult to trace because of the early 1838 date, and lack of official records, so I had to work from newspaper accounts. I found a Star that was built in the early 1820s, but she was involved in the Chinese trade exclusively as far as I could see, so that vessel was ruled out. Another Star hailed from Philadelphia. Yet another was only in the West Indies trade. 
But, I am fairly certain that I have found the right one if you can look again at the date on the painting and make that 1833 into a 1838 or an 1839! See the attachment for a good starting year. I have a 600 ton burthen (see other attachment), but no other dimensions for this vessel, but I think that advertisement infers that she was built in New York City ( probably Brooklyn) and berthed regularly at the Pine St. wharf.
Note: Star was captained and owned by S. E. Glover, with one voyage in 1838 to New Orleans under a Captain Mallet. The advertisement in the attachment shows Rawson and Murray as agents, but I also found Glover and Murray listed in other ads.
In ads for voyages to NOLA and/ or Liverpool dating from 1838 the agent is J. Herdman & Co. (d.b.a as J.Herdman Keenan & Co. in Liverpool and Ireland. She picked up cargo of cotton in NOLA for Liverpool, and emigrants for New York. I found voyages to Liverpool at least once a year from 1838 onward until 1845, nothing after that.
I could find no information on the burgee being flown, but someday perhaps... Of the signal flags, the top one is unrecognizeable, but the two repeated are "2", from Watson's signals. In other paintings I  have seen the one on the fore as calling for a pilot.
Note provided by Joanie Ingraham Research Assistant at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.
Condition: The painting was cleaned and wax lined about 35 years ago. There is only a small mount of scattered in-paint. The painting retains its original stretcher and gold leaf frame. There are a few minor surface loses to pieces of the frame which has its original gold leaf surface.
Dimensions of painting: Height 33, Width 48 inches.
Dimensions of frame: Height 41 1/2, Width 56 3/8 inches.