Lot 127: Ian H. Marshall (b.1933)

Ian H. Marshall (b.1933)
The U.S. battleship Maine lying in Casco Bay, Maine, New England
signed with initials 'I.H.M.' (lower right)
pencil and watercolour
21 x 28 in. (53.4 x 71 cm.)

with Oliver Swann Galleries, London.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite"). If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
Following a long period of disinterest in naval affairs, the U.S. Congress authorised the building of the so-called 'New Navy' in 1883 and began the programme with two battleships, Maine and Texas. Maine was laid down first, in October 1888, and completed in September 1895. Displacing 6,682 tons with a top speed of 17 knots, she was 324 feet long and carried 4-10in. guns mounted in two turrets 'en echelon' as her main armament. In the autumn of 1897, she was detached from the North Atlantic Squadron to counter a potential threat to U.S. interests after a rebellion on the Spanish island of Cuba. Eventually it was decided to send the Maine to Havana on a goodwill mission and she entered the harbour there on 25th January 1898. Once her captain had exchanged the usual courtesies with the port authorities, the ship's company settled into a routine for a lengthy stay. At 9.40pm. on 15th February - and without any prior warning - the pride of the U.S. Navy exploded in flames and sank with the loss of 260 lives. Despite two Courts of Inquiry, the cause of the sinking was never satisfactorily explained but, whatever the reason, American public opinion soon became convinced that the ship had been deliberately mined. The almost inevitable outcome was the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the legend of the Maine was born.