Lot 201: Antonio De Simone (fl. circa 1886-1910) 'S. Y. Varuna' Pair of gouaches Each signed and dated 1908 lower right Each titled lower left Each 44cm x 64cm The steam yacht flies the U.S. Yacht Ensign. She was built for carpet millionaire Eugene Higgins, 1

Antonio De Simone (fl. circa 1886-1910) 'S. Y. Varuna' Pair of gouaches Each signed and dated 1908 lower right Each titled lower left Each 44cm x 64cm The steam yacht flies the U.S. Yacht Ensign. She was built for carpet millionaire Eugene Higgins, 1 Madison Avenue New York and the largest vessel ever on the register of the New York Athletic Yacht Club. On 7th November 1909 she sailed from Bermuda for Madeira, with Higgins on board but was wrecked on the Madeira coast, at Achadas da Cruz on 16th November. The sea was calm, and the accident was attributed to fog and the lack of a proper lookout. The owner, the three ladies accompanying him, the captain and other officers and crew (totalling about 50) were saved but one sailor was lost See Buchholz, Karsten. Ship Portrait Artists (Hamburg 1997), p. 127-128 for a discussion of the De Simone family of Naples pierhead painters