Lot 49: Attributed to Édouard Adam (French, 1847-1929) The Atalanta running under reduced sail in a gale

The Atalanta running under reduced sail in a gale
oil on canvas
61 x 91.4cm (24 x 36in).

The very last true clipper ship to be launched from Robert Duncan’s yards at Port Glasgow in 1885 was ‘Atalanta’. Ordered for Mr. Ninian Hill of Greenock, she was registered there at 1,753 tons gross (1,693 net) and measured 265 feet in length with a 40 foot beam. Mostly employed in the Java sugar trade, she had a tremendous turn of speed and logged 320 and 325 miles in consecutive days whilst on passage from Cardiff to Singapore in 1886. These remarkable runs were followed by many more during her career and, since both her owner and her master were unstinting in their care of her, she was frequently complimented on her matchless appearance. Often referred to as “the beautiful Atalanta”, on her last homeward passage she caused a sensation by sailing right up to her anchorage at the Tail of the Bank under full canvas, much to the admiration of a party of naval officers who witnessed her smart handling. Sadly her career proved short-lived and she was wrecked off the coast of Oregon on 17th November 1898 with the loss of her captain and 22 of her crew.