Lot 693: John Stewart (b.1941)

The American Clipper Red Jacket in the Southern Ocean signed and dated 'J. Stewart/73' (lower right) oil on canvas 28 x 36 in. (71.2 x 91.4 cm.) NOTES The legendary Red Jacket was designed by Samuel Pook and built in 1853 for the Boston firm of Seacomb & Taylor in George Thomas's yard at Rockland, Maine. Registered at 2,460 tons and 260 feet long, she carried the figurehead of an Indian warrior having been named after a noted Seneca chief famed for the red jacket which he always wore. Leaving New York on her maiden voyage on 11 January 1854, she reached Liverpool after an astonishing run of only 13 days, 1 hour and 25 minutes, dock to dock. This set a record which still stands for the fastest Atlantic eastbound crossing by a fully-rigged sailing ship, an achievement made all the more remarkable given the severe winter weather she encountered. Her reputation thus made, she was immediately chartered by the White Star Line for a round trip to Australia. The first half of the voyage was slow thanks to light winds and poor trades but her time of 19 days from the Cape of Good Hope to Melbourne has never been bettered or even equalled. Sailing from Melbourne on 3 August 1854, she returned home - via Cape Horn - in an exceptional 73 days and only narrowly missed another record run for her passengers. On arrival at Liverpool, she was bought by Pilkington & Wilson, the owners of the White Star fleet, and thereafter continued voyaging to Australia until the mid-1860's. From 1868 until about 1882, she worked the timber trade between Quebec and London, and eventually ended her days as a coal hulk in the Cape Verde Islands.