Catalog entry

Commentary

Looking west from Governor’s Island on a breezy afternoon, we see the Boston waterfront, from Charlestown and the naval shipyard at far right, to the South Boston Flats at far left. At center is the gilt dome of the Massachusetts State House, flanked by the steeples of Park Street Church and the Old South Meeting House to the left, and the newly built (1853) First Baptist Church to the right. This depiction of Boston by Lane appears to be his earliest to show the Baptist church, newly added to the skyline.

Gusty variable winds are blowing in the harbor. It has caused the sloop in the right foreground to heel alarmingly while the crew has hastily dropped her sails, part of the main sail having landed in the water. To the sloop’s left, a schooner-rigged boat lowers sail in similar haste as one of her crew goes forward to drop the anchor. Elsewhere, some vessels are contending with strong gusts, like the clipper ship and schooner seen through the schooner boat’s masts, while vessels in the painting’s left half are standing up to somewhat milder breezes and wind shifts. Such a situation can change quickly as a summer storm passes to the westward, bringing localized and erratic wind shifts.

While sailing vessels dominate this scene, there are three examples of side-wheel steamers in this painting, all in the coastal passenger service. In the left foreground, and immediately astern to the left, are two smaller examples for carrying commuters and short-haul goods to nearby towns along Boston’s north and south shores. At center background, directly below the State House, is a larger example used for longer routes along New England’s northern and southern coasts. While hardly dominant in this scene, they are a portent of changes to come.

This painting has added significance to Lane’s depictions of Boston Harbor, as it is very possible that it was the first to use his revised drawing of the Boston skyline as seen from Governor’s Island Boston Harbor, 1850s (inv. 158). This drawing—now composed of two attached sheets—once had a third sheet, as evidenced by a register mark on the right margin. Whether this missing sheet was also a revision—or part of an earlier drawing whose details Lane regarded adequate—is now an open question. The drawing includes much of Boston’s North End, which changed little in profile, as well as railroad termini, which changed considerably. Naval facilities in Charlestown were fairly static in this period. Lane’s subsequent paintings of Boston Harbor adhere closely to the viewing point and skyline details in this drawing.

– Erik Ronnberg

Key to buildings on Boston skyline:

A. Massachusetts State House

B. Park Street Church

C. Old South Meeting House

D. First Baptist Church

E. Christ Church – "Old North Church"

Key to vessel types:

1. Full-rigged ships

2. Half-brig (hermaphrodite brig)

3. Topsail schooner

4. Schooners

5. Sloop

6. Coastal steamship

Related Work in the Catalog

Supplementary Images

Proposed viewpoint of Lane when creating the picture. Viewpoint plottings by Erik Ronnberg using the... [more] map from the 1847 Boston Almanac.