Catalog entry

Commentary

1. Ten Pound Island
2. George H. Rogers's wharf
3. Merchant bark
4. Schooner (coastal trade)
5. Schooner (fishing)
6. Schooner (fishing)
7. Yawl boat

This painting might be more accurately titled “Ships in Ice off Fort Point,” as the vessels are much closer to that location, even if all we see is a corner of George H. Rogers’s wharf projecting from it.

Winters on Cape Ann are seldom so severe that a significant part of Gloucester Harbor will freeze over. Two such events were indicated on the original U.S. Coast Survey chart of Gloucester Harbor, which was completed in 1853 and updated to 1875. The first freeze was in the winter of 1855–56 and was confined to the Inner Harbor east of a line from Duncan’s Point to Rocky Neck. The second took place the following winter, covering the entire harbor out to a line extending from Norman’s Woe to Eastern Point.

In Lane’s painting, the line of ice extends from Fort Point to Rocky Neck’s western shoreline, but not as far as Ten Pound Island. The extent of the ice eliminates the possibility that this was the 1855–56 freeze. Here is a view of the ice still advancing to the Outer Harbor entrance—or receding, having already reached its furthest extent.

Finding the direction and scope (or angle) of this view meant plotting two lines: one intersecting Ten Pound Island; the other, a small corner of George H. Rogers’s wharf. Placing the background in the middle of the harbor entrance—so there could be no land on the painting’s horizon—led to a viewing point on Fears’ Wharf off Duncan’s Point. Moving that point anywhere else would cause the resulting twelve-degree angle of view to narrow even more, or bring Norman’s Woe into the right background. Interestingly, Lane’s house is very close to this angle’s median line if it is extended inland, but the house is too high for this view. It must have been drawn no more than 10-12 feet above sea level, suggesting that Lane was drawing while sitting on the wharf at high tide.

Another possibility is that Lane made his pencil sketch of this view in warm weather, then painted a winter version in the comfort of his studio. It is also possible that he used just a small section of a sketch with a much wider view. He had only to look out the window for colors, light, and cloud formations, then add vessels and human activity where he judged was most suitable. The result was a convincing winter scene, “painted from nature,” set in midafternoon with the midafternoon sun’s rays brightening wintry storm clouds off to the east.

In left center is a merchant bark breaking through the ice to leave port. What appears to be boxes of provisions for the crew are being delivered by sled. Ahead of the bark is a team of men with picks and hammers, chopping and pounding the ice to form cracks and small pieces that the bark can dislodge and ride over. Astern in her shadow are loose blocks of ice that were pushed under and aside as the bark made headway. Secured to the bark’s side is a small schooner—probably used in the coasting trade—assisting in the ice-breaking process. With her sails set, she is forced by the wind to heel, bearing down on the ice and causing it to crack and break up, easing the bark’s task of breaking through.

The two other schooners (far left and far right) are probably fishing vessels, their finely modeled hulls showing the growing presence and influence of the “sharpshooter” and “clipper” schooners. Improved rail transportation to the midwest was beginning to generate greater demand for fish—fresh fish in particular. This meant the need for faster vessels to get fresh fish quickly from the fishing grounds to market, sparking a revival in Gloucester’s fishing industry just as its foreign trade was in decline. The juxtaposition of a merchant bark of antiquated design among two trendsetting examples of fishing schooners in antebellum Gloucester is probably an unintended mix of promise and foreboding on Lane’s part, but there it is.

– Erik Ronnberg

Supplementary Images

Proposed viewpoint of Lane when creating the picture. Viewpoint plottings by Erik Ronnberg using U.S... [more]. Coast Survey sketch chart of Gloucester Harbor 1855. Chart shows limit of ice in the winter of 1855.

Proposed viewpoint of Lane when creating the picture. Viewpoint plottings by Erik Ronnberg using U.S... [more]. Coast Survey sketch chart of Gloucester Harbor 1855.