Catalog entry

Commentary

Painted about 1850, Unloading a Ship depicts a calm inlet at sunset. On the beach in the foreground, two men engage in conversation as a third transfers cargo from a large dory to a horse-drawn cart. Two ships, meticulously studied and drawn, lie in the glassy water beyond. A warm red-orange light suffuses the scene, lending a nostalgic cast to the image.

In contrast to Lane's luminist work of the later 1850s and 1860s, Unloading a Ship embodies narrative elements that relate it to contemporary genre paintings by such artists as William Sidney Mount (1807-1868). Reading from left to right, the two men in the lower left appear to be a sailor and a landsman, respectively.  Paralleling paintings by Mount depicting horse trading and other commercial negotiations, the two figures appear to be discussing some transaction or commodity. In this case, the subject of their discussion is probably the cart in the center foreground. Loading the cart from the empty boat to the right, a second pair of figures underscores the act of transferring goods from sea to land. Lane's contrived, almost didactic presentation of the foreground elements emphasizes the importance of coastal shipping, particularly to remote villages along the Maine coast.  

If Lane's figural arrangement seems somewhat artificial, there is little that is fanciful in the artist's rendering of the ships. Carefully observed and delineated, the vessels are easily recognizable as to both their class and function. The ship on the left is a topsail schooner, a cargo carrier that appears frequently in Lane's paintings. To the right is a smaller schooner, perhaps a fishing vessel. In keeping with the sunset hour, the larger ship appears to be furling its sails for the night.  The smaller craft is still fully rigged, suggesting that it has just arrived on the scene after a day of work.

An apparent celebration of coastal shipping combined with carefully observed images of sailing vessels, Unloading a Ship reinforces scholarly assertions that Lane's clients were most likely ship captains and others who were intimately familiar with the sea trade.  Painted during an era when the owners and masters of ships ranked among New England's commercial elite, Unloading a Ship is not only an affirmation of their roles in society but a testament to their cultural aspirations as well.

Excerpt from V. Scott Dimond, “Unloading a Ship” Exploring American Art: An Online Resource for the American Collections, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH, 2004, web, accessed February 2016.

REFERENCE

Franklin Kelly with Nicolai Cikovsky Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I .  Washington, DC:  National Gallery of Art, 1996.