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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. 249
"Starlight" in Harbor
"Star Light," 1153 Tons, Built at South Boston, Mass., in 1854; Ship "Star Light" in Boston Harbor; Ship "Starlight" in the Fog
c. 1855 Oil on canvas 24 1/4 x 36 1/8 in. (61.6 x 91.8 cm) No inscription found
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Supplementary Images
"Starlight" in Harbor (detail)
Provenance (Information known to date; research ongoing.)
the Artist, Gloucester, Mass.
Baker & Morrill Shipping Company, Boston, c. 1855
Dr. Charles Baker Hitchcock, Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Private collection, after 1969
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1980
Masco Corporation, Taylor, Mich., 1980
Sotheby's, New York, December 3, 1998, lot 119
Glen S. Foster, New York, 1998
Estate of Glen S. Foster, New York, 2001
Philips, de Pury & Luxembourg, New York, May 21, 2002, lot 72
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo., 2002
Exhibition History
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, New York, American Art from the Gallery's Collection, October 4–25, 1980., no. 20.
Published References
Howe, Octavius T., and Frederick C. Matthews. American Clipper Ships: 1833–1858. Salem, MA: Marine Research Society, 1927., 2:269, "Star Light," 1153 Tons, Built at South Boston, Mass., in 1854.
American Art from the Gallery's Collection. New York: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 1980., no. 30, ill., cover.
Wilmerding, John, ed. American Light: The Luminist Movement, 1850–1875. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1980., ills., pl. 8, p. 59 and fig. 112, p. 109, text, p. 111, Ship "Starlight" in the Fog.
New York: Sotheby's, 1998., lot 119.
"'Starlight' Anchors at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art." Antiques and the Arts Weekly, July 19, 2002., ill., p. 12.
Berman, Ann E. "Phillips Turns Art Auction into a Three-Horse Race." Maine Antique Digest 30 (August 2002).
"Museum Gets $5 Million and a New Painting." Maine Antique Digest 30 (August 2002).
Peluso, A.J., Jr. "American Marine Art from the Estate of Glen S. Foster." Maine Antique Digest 30 (August 2002).
Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg. New York, NY: Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg, May 21, 2002., lot 72.
Thorson, Alice. "Nelson Gets a Pair of All-American Gifts." Kansas City Star, June 30, 2002.
Granby, Alan et al. A Yachtsman's Eye: The Glen S. Foster Collection of Marine Paintings. Philadelphia, PA: Independence Seaport Museum; in association with W.W. Norton, 2005., pl. III.12, p. 171, Ship "Star Light" in Boston Harbor.
Conrads, Margaret C. ed. Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: American Painting to 1945. Vol. 1. Kansas City, MO: The Nelson-Atkins Museum, 2007., ill. p. 373, text, pp. 372–75.
Conrads, Margaret C. ed. The Catalogue of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: American Paintings to 1945. Vol. 2. Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2007., p. 155.
Lessing, Lauren. "Fitz Henry Lane 'Starlight' in Harbor." In American Paintings to 1945: The Collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 2, edited by Margaret C. Conrads. Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2007, pp. 372–75.
Commentary
With "Starlight's" jibs partially raised and her yards in lowered positions, the squaresails "hanging in the gear," Lane is demonstrating his knowledge of practical seamanship; "Starlight's" master is taking care of the new ship's sails. Some of the cotton canvas is almost one-eighth inch thick, and all of the sails are hand stitched, but they must be correctly treated or they will not draw properly. Any dampness in furled sails was an invitation to mildew, so it was necessary on calm, dry days to unfurl them to dry out.
The harbor in this painting has not been identified, but it is a busy one. The "Sea Dragon," with her sea-dragon figurehead and gilt diamond on the cathead, is the center of the composition. To the right, a tugboat is bringing a ship into the harbor, while a ship and several sloops, including a heavily laden utility one, are to the left. Several men are standing on the wharf, including Lane's only known depiction of an African-American man.