Painting

Title:

U.S.S. Constitution at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

2014.029.03

Creator:

Styles, Walter B. (1862-1948)

Place of Origin:

Portsmouth, NH

Date:

circa 1890

Description:

Painting of U.S.S. Constitution at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, by Walter B. Styles (1862-1948), c. 1890. Oil on canvas. View of large three-masted ship moored at end of wharf; ship has yellow hull with salmon-colored "house" built above the deck; wide expanse of water in foreground, with red buoy on left; white sailboat to left of ship; large white building (Santee Shiphouse, built in 1819) in background, on wharf; smaller white building (Alabama Shiphouse, built in 1814) on right. Signed "W.B. Styles" in blue, lower left. Inscribed in white ink on stretcher: "STYLES, W.B. DOCK SCENE AT PORTSMOUTH, N.H." Kennedy Galleries (NY) label on stretcher. Framed.

Material:

Textile

Dimensions:

H-16.9 W-22.1 inches

Provenance:

From the collection of Jean E. and Joseph G. Sawtelle. Purchased by NHHS at Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, NH, August 17, 2014, Lot #798.

The Constitution first came to Portsmouth in 1857, where she was completely rebuilt and relaunched in 1858 as a Navy training ship. She returned to Portsmouth in 1882 and remained there for 15 years; she was used as a receiving (barracks) ship, later for storage, and then as a museum. She returned to Boston in 1897.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Styles, Walter B. (1862-1948)

Subjects:

Portsmouth, NH, Ships, Shipyards, Boathouses