Blue Seas—The Maitland by Montague Dawson

Montague Dawson
1890–1973 | British

Blue Seas—The Maitland

Signed "Montague Dawson" (lower left)
Oil on canvas

A masterful celebration of the Victorian age of sail, Blue Seas—The Maitland captures the legendary tea clipper Maitland racing across open water with all sails set. Painted circa 1959 by Montague Dawson, one of the most celebrated marine artists of the 20th century, this commanding composition unites historical romance, nautical accuracy and extraordinary painterly drama. Launched in 1865, Maitland belonged to the golden era of the China tea trade, when the fastest clippers competed to bring the new season’s tea to London with unmatched speed and elegance.

Dawson presents the vessel from a low, dramatic viewpoint, emphasizing the ship’s towering sail plan and creating a thrilling sense of scale. Cream-colored sails billow in the wind above the ship’s dark hull, while the sea below churns in brilliant passages of turquoise, cobalt and royal blue. The artist’s deft handling of the waves and cloud-flecked sky creates a luminous atmosphere, balancing the ship’s power with the grace and beauty that made the great clippers icons of maritime history.

The Maitland was ordered by John Kelso of North Shields and built at William Pile’s yard in Sunderland, launching on December 2, 1865. Registered at 799 tons and measuring 183 feet in length with a 35-foot beam, the vessel was designed for speed and stability, with composite construction and an unusually lofty sail plan that included moonsails above her standing skysails. Though short-lived, Maitland participated in the fiercely competitive tea trade, completing notable passages between Britain and China before she was wrecked on a coral reef north of New Caledonia in 1874.

Montague Dawson was uniquely suited to immortalize such a vessel. The grandson of marine painter Henry Dawson and the son of a keen yachtsman, he spent much of his childhood studying ships along Southampton Water. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War I, Dawson witnessed the surrender of the German Grand Fleet, and his illustrations of the historic event were published in The Sphere, the influential British illustrated newspaper. He later continued his association with the publication during World War II, when he was employed as a war artist. Establishing himself as one of Britain’s foremost marine painters, Dawson specialized in historic ships, naval subjects and deep-water sailing vessels. By the 1930s, he was considered among the greatest living marine artists, with patrons including the British Royal Family and American Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson. His works are represented in important collections including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth.

Circa 1959

Canvas: 27 1/8” high x 47” wide (68.90 x 119.38 cm)
Frame: 34” high x 47 3/4“ wide x 2" deep (86.36 x 121.29 x 5.08 cm)

Provenance:
Sale, 1959, London, purchased directly from the artist in 1959
Private collection, United States
M.S. Rau, New Orleans