Lot 246: CHARLES SIDNEY RALEIGH, American, 1830-1925, Portrait of the American bark Western Belle,, Oil on canvas, 26” x 36”. Framed.

CHARLES SIDNEY RALEIGH
American, 1830-1925
Portrait of the American bark Western Belle, with numerous figures on deck. Signed lower left "C.S. Raleigh, 1887". New Zealand framer's label on reverse. The Western Belle was built in 1876 by Goss and Sawyer of Bath, Maine, as was her sister ship Belle of Oregon. With a homeport of Portland, Oregon, she was built for R.R. Thompson, S.G. Reed, Henry Failing and M.S. Burrell of Portland, Oregon, and Captain William Besse of Bath, Maine. The two ships had matching figureheads carved by Colonel Sampson. They were made with detachable arms to prevent damage while at sea, and were one-armed at sea and two-armed in port. The figurehead of the Western Belle was removed from her in 1894 and now resides in the Peabody Museum of Salem, Massachusetts. The figurehead of the Belle of Oregon now resides in the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.
See Baker, W.A., Maritime History of Bath, Maine and the Kennebec Region. Bath, Maine, 1973.
Oil on canvas, 26" x 36". Framed.