Lot 44: William Clark of Greenock (British, 1803-1883) The Hanover of Glasgow

The Hanover of Glasgow
signed 'W. Clark' and dated 1839, inscribed 'no. 3 Portrait of Hanover of Glasgow on label on reverse
oil on canvas
61 x 91.4cm (24 x 36in).

PROVENANCE :
Presented to the vendors by Capt. Richard William Andrew Wallace, 1960 (and presumably by descent from the captain of the Hanover.

Captain Richard William Andrew Wallace was born c. 1895 in Glasgow, and began his seagoing service with the Clan Line, joining as an apprentice in 1911 and progressing to Chief Officer by 1926. In 1930 he was appointed as Assistant Superintendent to Scrutton's of London, and in 1944 promoted to Senior Superintendent.


William Clark of Greenock enjoyed a long and productive professional life, and is generally acknowledged as the doyen of the Clyde’s nineteenth century maritime artists. A practical yachtsman and official artist to the Royal Northern Yacht Club, he early learned to see with the eyes of a professional sailor; witness this composition of Hanover in the open sea.

Flying spray and aft-streaming flags set the scene; along with the heavy ocean swell and the menacing foreground trough extending the whole extent of the canvas. The barque is making headway to windward, against a near gale of wind, under shortened sail and reefed topsails. In complete contrast, the artist portrays a distant ship near the painting’s right margin, comfortably running downwind in the opposite direction.

For the master of the barque, entirely dependent on wind power, the situation is fraught with momentous decisions. Does prudent seamanship call for a further reduction in sail? Even if thought advisable, can a decision be postponed a little longer - possibly until fading daylight demands the answer? Such weighty considerations will doubtless be occupying the minds of most of the small group on the after deck, but it is the master (stationed right aft and distinguished by the wearing of a top hat), on whose sole judgement depends the well-being of the ship and all on board.

Whilst such demanding conditions requires alertness on the part of all crew members on watch, the appropriate command ‘sail her full and by’ demands the unremitting attention and constant muscular effort of only the most experienced helmsmen. Sailing too close to the wind will, at best, result in lost speed; with the added risk of being ‘taken aback’ with damage to spars and rigging. Doing the opposite will lose precious progress gained to windward. Clark, a practical yachtsman, was well aware of the fine balance required; indicated here by the ‘full’ appearance of the luff (leading edge) of the square sails *.

Hanover was launched in 1826 by the prestigious shipbuilder Scott of Greenock, one of a small fleet built over the years for the equally well known firm of Stirling & Gordon of Glasgow, engaged in the West Indian sugar trade and regularly sailing to Jamaica. Flown here at the main mast-head, the company house flag consists simply of the letters ‘S’ and ‘G’ in white, on a blue ground. Clark had previous dealings with both builder and owner. An earlier painting by him dated 1830 depicts Hanover arriving in the Clyde just as her consort, the ship Christian departs (see Marine Art and the Clyde, A.S.Davidson, Jones-Sands Publishing, 2001, page 113 where this picture is illustrated and discussed). Both vessels were owned by Stirling & Gordon and each displays the same unique house flag.

Hanover served her original owners until 1843, when she was sold to W. Blues of Leith and traded to Africa. By 1846 she was transferred to Halket & Co. of London and was absent from Lloyd’s Register by 1848.

From 1839, the date of the painting, until sold in 1843, Hanover was commanded by Captain Wallace. Thanks to the survival of this ship portrait by William Clark, he appears in virtual command after a lapse of more than a century and a half.

*Sailing ‘full and by’ [or sometimes ‘by and large’] required the helmsman to steer so as to just maintain this ‘full’ appearance and avoid the luff ‘collapsing’ – in effect, he was steering not by the compass, but ‘by’ the wind; hence ‘full’ and ‘by’. The resulting compass reading would of course be constantly checked by the officer of the watch in case of a significant wind shift, and also recorded by him for normal navigational purposes. His oft repeated exhortation to the helmsman was likely to be ‘watch your luff’.

We would like to thank Dr. Sam Davidson for his help in cataloguing this lot.