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Old Dominion Line Steamer Isaac Bell off Sandy Hook with Pilot Schooner No. 16, Christian Bergh, in the Distance
Old Dominion Line Steamer Isaac Bell off Sandy Hook with Pilot Schooner No. 16, Christian Bergh, in the Distance
Old Dominion Line Steamer Isaac Bell off Sandy Hook with Pilot Schooner No. 16, Christian Bergh, in the Distance

Old Dominion Line Steamer Isaac Bell off Sandy Hook with Pilot Schooner No. 16, Christian Bergh, in the Distance

Artist (American, born Denmark, 1850 - 1921)
Date1876
OriginUnited States of America
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions22 × 36 in. (55.9 × 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
Object number2017.19
Label TextAntonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (Danish-American, 1850-1921) The Isaac Bell of the Old Dominion Steamship Company Oil on canvas, 1876 Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry Built of oak and hackmatack (tamarack) at Williamsburg, Long Island, and launched in March 1868, the Isaac Bell was a side-paddle steamship named after a prominent President of the Old Dominion Steamship Company (1814—1860). With two decks and accommodations for 125 saloon passengers, the 1,600-ton vessel was one of the company’s largest ships and traveled mostly between Norfolk and New York. The ship was destroyed by fire while docking at Portsmouth on October 2, 1880, where she was loaded with a highly flammable cargo of 800 bales of cotton in the forward hold, 40 hogsheads (large barrels) of tobacco, and 40 barrels of resin. While nobody was injured in the fire, the uninsured $ 200,000 steamer was declared a total loss. Antonio Jacobsen, born into a family of Danish violinmakers, immigrated to the United States in 1871 and settled in Hoboken, NJ. He quickly developed a reputation for his marine paintings that were popular with captains and shipowners. The Isaac Bell is shown here in a double portrait braving a rough sea off the coast of Sandy Hook, NJ. The pilot schooner No. 16 Christian Bergh is visible in the distance. It is flying the blue flag on her tall mast, indicating that she has taken the job of bringing the steamship into harbor. The painting was likely commissioned on the completion of a thorough refurbishment of the Isaac Bell’s saloons in 1876 that accommodated an increased demand in transportation by Southern travelers to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
Status
Not on view