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Fitz Henry Lane
HISTORICAL ARCHIVE • CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ • EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE
An online project under the direction of the CAPE ANN MUSEUM
An online project under the direction of the CAPE ANN MUSEUM
Catalog entry
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inv. 219
Untitled
Graphite on paper 8 x 9 1/4 in. (20.3 x 23.5 cm) Signed lower right (in pencil): Lane del.
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Recto
Provenance (Information known to date; research ongoing.)
the Artist, Gloucester, Mass.
Joseph L. Stevens, Jr., Gloucester, Mass.
Samuel H. Mansfield, Gloucester, Mass.
Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Mass., 1927
Commentary
Despite – or maybe because of – this drawing’s few and simple lines, Lane has masterfully conveyed the graceful hull form and volume of a common work boat. Yawl boats were carried by New England merchant and fishing vessels, most commonly from davits at the stern. They were also modified for harbor work or shore fishing by adding spars, sails, and even partial decking as with this example. Ruggedly-built, and originally of lapstrake construction, by Lane’s time carvel (smooth) planking was standard.
Examples of yawl boats are often seen in Lane’s paintings, some of the best examples being A Smart Blow, c.1856 (inv. 9), Ships in Ice off Ten Pound Island, Gloucester, 1850s (inv. 44), Gloucester Inner Harbor, 1850 (inv. 240), Ships Leaving Boston Harbor, 1847 (inv. 265), and The Fort and Ten Pound Island, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 1847 (inv. 271).
–Erik Ronnberg
Reference:
Muriel H. Parry et al., “Aak to Zumbra” (Newport News, VA: The Mariners’ Museum, 2000), p. 643.