Ship Ben Cruachan by Lai Fong

Lai Fong
Fl. 1870-1910 | Chinese

Ship Ben Cruachan

Oil on canvas

The Scottish trade ship Ben Cruachan sails the open sea near the Indian Port of Calcutta in this oil on canvas by leading Chinese Trade painter Lai Fong. The vessel, either voyaging to or from the Far East, battles the waves in full sail and is rendered with incredible accuracy and attention to detail. Lai Fong was a Chinese artist working in Calcutta celebrated for his ability to seamlessly marry the styles of European maritime painting with China Trade painting.

Throughout the 19th century, the China Trade saw Western merchants buy and ship exotic goods, including porcelain, tea, silk lacquerware and an intriguing array of marine paintings, from Canton to Europe. These paintings often offered first-hand documentation of these merchant vessels and the ports they visited, and they held appeal for wealthy European traders. Adapted, in part, to favor Western tastes, this piece still displays a distinctly Chinese aesthetic in its flattened planes, precise lines and limited palette. Yet, the use of shading in the sails reveals the influence of the West, creating a composition that skillfully melds Eastern and Western painting conventions.

Today, Lai Fong's artworks reside in the collections of the Merseyside Maritime Museum (Liverpool), the Mariners Museum (Newport News, Virginia) and the Maritime Museum (Troense, Denmark).

Circa 1875

Canvas: 34" high x 50 1/4" wide
Frame: 42 1/2" high x 59" wide