"Sail and Steam on the Morning Tide"

Cunard Liner Pavonia Leaving Boston at Dawn 1890's

oil, 24” x 40,” 30” x 46,” framed

$45,000

The type 'B' Cunard liner Pavonia is being helped out of her east Boston slip at dawn, bound for a transatlantic passage. She and her sister ships Cephalonia and Catalonia were built for the Liverpool- Queenstown - Boston run in the early 1880's and continued in service until replaced by newer liners in 1900. Pavonia was always a favorite. She and her sisters each accommodated 200 cabin passengers and 1500 steerage.  A large number of the Irish immigrants entering Boston in the 1880 and 90's did so, on the Cunarders.

 In the foreground is a banks fishing schooner. The contrast between the liner and the schooner as technological advances accelerate the pace of change, mirrors the contrast between the crystal and silver of the Cunard cabin passenger and the life of a fisherman. Imagine the conversation aboard the schooner as she slips quietly away from T-wharf bound out for the banks and the harsh work there, compared to the bustle and fanfare that herald the arrival or departure of the luxurious Cunard liner.