Cutty Sark Entering The Thames River by John Steven Dews
Cutty Sark Entering The Thames River by John Steven Dews
In this painting the magnificent clipper is seen entering the Thames with her sails at full tilt. Painted in the realist style, Dews’ ability to capture the tranquil movement of the waves is fully realised in this beautiful painting. By using a calm palette of light blues and of white a sense of serenity is conveyed which captures the security felt at a finished journey.
DIMENSIONS: (unframed) 61.0 x 91.4 cm/24.0 x 36.0 ins
SIGNATURE: Signed (lower left)
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas
Price: £70,000
The Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship built on the Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line and was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest. The Cutty Sark spent only a few years on the tea trade before turning to the wool trade from Australia, where she held the record time to Britain for ten years. The Cutty Sark was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895, and renamed Ferreira. She continued as a cargo ship until purchased by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman in 1922, who used her as a training ship operating from Falmouth, Cornwall. In 1938 she became an auxiliary cadet training ship alongside H.M.S. Worcester. By 1954 she had ceased to be useful as a cadet ship and was transferred to permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London, on public display.
She is one of only three remaining original composite construction (wooden hull on an iron frame) clipper ships from the nineteenth century, the others being in Adelaide, Australia and near Punta Arenas, Chile.
Provenance
Private Collection, United Kingdom
Biography
John Steven Dews was born in Yorkshire in 1949. Following his graduation, Dews built up an amazing portfolio for his first exhibition back in 1976. On the Exhibition’s first night, almost his entire collection was sold. The following year he held an Exhibition in San Francisco which also sold out to great critical acclaim, and since then, Dews has continued exhibiting regularly at leading galleries in London and throughout the world. He is now commissioned for several years in advance.
Dews’ work is avidly collected around the world. Above all, he lives and loves the subjects he paints, and spends any of his spare time sailing.