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Fitz Henry Lane
HISTORICAL ARCHIVE • CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ • EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE
An online project under the direction of the CAPE ANN MUSEUM
An online project under the direction of the CAPE ANN MUSEUM
Catalog entry
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inv. 285
Two men in a Boat
Untitled
Graphite on paper pen and ink wash 4 x 6 1/4 in. (10.2 x 15.9 cm) No inscription found
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Verso
Provenance (Information known to date; research ongoing.)
the Artist, Gloucester, Mass.
Joseph L. Stevens, Jr., Gloucester, Mass.
Samuel H. Mansfield, Gloucester, Mass.
Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Mass., 1927
Commentary
This pencil and ink drawing captures a yawl boat being rowed by a mariner with a well-dressed passenger in the stern. No destination or purpose is discernible, but it was not unusual for a vessel owner or shipping agent to board the vessel on arrival (or after quarantine) to inspect the cargo and assess the condition and quality of the arrived goods. The oarsman is putting his back into the rowing while his passenger is wholly relaxed, looking off to starboard as if he was studying the harbor activity.
This drawing is unusual for Lane, in his use of ink wash, and working in such a loose and rapid style. The results are nonetheless effective.
–Erik Ronnberg