Additional Images

Provenance:

Frost & Reed Gallery, London, UK, Registered No. 50168 to gallery label to the stretcher;
Private Collection, Toronto purchased from an art dealer in the 1980s

Note:

A renowned maritime artist, Montague Dawson is best known for paintings of great 18th and 19th century sailing ships. Though born in Chiswick, London, Dawson spent much of his youth on Southampton Water, where his father indulged a passion for yachting. Dawson, the grandson of marine painter Henry Dawson (1811-1878), spent his days observing the ships arriving and departing from this major port. After a time spent in the Navy during the First World War as a Dazzle Painter– the application of camouflage paint to naval vessels– Dawson established himself as a professional artist. Known both for the accuracy of the naval details as well as for his painterly skill, Dawson counted Queen Elizabeth II, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson as patrons.

In the above painting, Dawson depicts one of the fifteen ‘China clippers’ specifically designed for the importation of tea before the advent of steam-powered vessels. Owned and built by William Walker & Co., Shun Lee was launched in 1866, registered at 674 tons gross (650 net), and measured 158 feet in length with a 32 foot beam. Her maiden voyage was actually to Australia, though she did make one return trip to China before being sold to Potter & Co. of London in 1871. Potter & Co. put her into the New Zealand trade, where she changed ownership several times before being resold to her final owner, J. Carew in 1891.

Within a few months, Shun Lee caught fire while in port at Rio de Janeiro. Though the cause was ultimately determined to be spontaneous combustion, three crew members accused the mate of arson. After exonerating the mate, the court compelled the three crew members to pay for the cost of the trial.

The Great Tea Race of 1866: National Archives, Government of the UK