Engraving on paper                                                                   Ca
1929

Unframed 15 1/2″ L x 13 1/2″ H                                               
Framed 22 3/4″ x 20 1/2″

Signed       LR                                                                             
Numbered 92/100

 

 

Presented is an engraving of the famous American
Clipper ship Flying Cloud as she surges forward in rolling seas towards an unknown port. She is heeling to
leeward under full sails on a starboard beam reach. Many gulls are soaring off her starboard quarter. The engraving is
signed in pencil in the lower right, and marked and numbered in the upper left.

 

THE ARTIST: Burnell Poole,
(1884-1933), spent years at sea in the North Atlantic with the U.S. Navy during WW One . Thirty years before our
navy had combat artists, Poole recorded the warships in action. The U.S. Navy has less than two dozen works of art recording
this period, and Poole’s contributions number five. They were commissioned by E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company,
and donated to the Naval Historical Foundation between 1928 and 1929 to commemorate the Navy’s participation in the
war. These paintings, owned by the Navy Historical Foundation, are on exhibit in Washington, DC. Later, he turned to
portraying the sea, by mastering the technique of engraving and dry-point. He earned a reputation as being the greatest American
marine artists in those techniques. In 1922, he was being compared favorably to Englishman, Arthur Briscoe,
1873-1943. Poole also did engravings of many famous sailing yachts and ships, and a portfolio of twenty of these works
was recently for sale for $12,500.00 for the lot.

 

The engraving has been recently framed and is 
available with a companion engraving of the English four masted Clipper Ship Bangalore which was the near final development
of the sailing cargo vessel. That engraving is dated March, 1929. Click here https://landandseacollection.com/id265.html

Burnell Poole is applauded for his
seascapes, navy and sailing ship works which all evidence the feelings of a true seaman.

 

Artist’s notation of work                         Signature                             Mark and number                            Port quarter close-up The Flying Cloud, was the masterpiece of Donald McKay, the foremost marine architect and shipbuilder of his time. She was launched in East Boston in 1851, just at the time of the California “Gold Rush”, when travel and transport between East Coast ports and California was best undertaken by ship. The Flying Cloud acquired a reputation for sailing faster than any other ship of her time. On one record breaking occasion under command of Captain Josiah Creesy, she made the passage from New York to San Francisco in 88 days, 22½ hours, a feat never again achieved by a sailing vessel. The Flying Cloud could be seen racing into port before the wind, her acres of sail flashing in the sun. An ordinary sailing ship would lift her bows and plunge with the seas. But not this one. As her sleek, jet-black hull sliced through the swells, the only visible motion was the white curl at her bow and an occasional toss of spray. She seemed to skim the waves like a gigantic black and white bird. During her later years, she carried tea from China to London, making the passage from Foochow in 123 days. Like all of the fast clipper ships, her time came to a close as steam-powered vessels took over maritime commerce. Flying Cloud met an unfortunate end when she ran aground in 1874, could not be rescued, and was burned to salvage metalwork.