Packetship YORKSHIRE Off Governor's Island, NY

oil on canvas, 24” x 40”

$42,000

In this magnificent painting, Blossom manages to include the tremendous variety of vessels in New York Harbor in 1860, from the YORKSHIRE washed in late afternoon sun, to the foreground schooner already in shadow (not many artists would dare to put the lightest and darkest areas of the painting right next to each other), to the brigantine seen between the numerous vessels sailing in the distance - all within sight of Governor's Island., where both forts, the round Castle Williams, and Fort Jay are visible. The American packet ship YORKSHIRE was built in New York by William H. Webb in 1843, it was listed at 996 tons, 167 feet in length 36 1/2 feet wide and sailed for the Black Ball Line. It took almost a month to make the voyage from New York to Bremen, Germany. The YORKSHIRE was so well built and rigged that her master, Captain David G. Bailey, could keep her closer hauled than any of her competitors. In February 1862, the YORKSHIRE sailed from New York for Liverpool, with three passengers and a crew of 23. She was never heard from again. Blossom has preserved this stunning image of her in her glory.