This particular print is considered part of “an important series called Pictures of American Sport” that was published by Prang in the 1880s (see McClinton, which also includes a full-page plate of this print from the collection of the Library of Congress). This famous race inspired numerous other prints, paintings and photographs, further described by maritime art scholar A.J. Peluso, Jr., who also lists this Davidson lithograph by Prang as one of the significant artworks commemorating the event:<\/p>\n
In September 1886 newspapers ran breathless accounts of the latest America’s Cup challenge. \u00a0Like all others, before and after, they were high-stakes yacht races: America against the [British] Empire. \u00a0The challenge and the positive patriotic results became validating symbols of national pride, pride in which all could partake, whatever one’s “station.”\u00a0 One of the oft-told tales described the Edward Burgess-designed Mayflower, at 100′ the longest in America, against the J. Beavor-Webb-designed Galatea at 107’7″. Galatea was at a disadvantage, however, with her 81-ton keel racing against “the queenly Mayflower, the fairest anemone that ever bloomed on American waters.” \u00a0As in the 1885 race between Puritan and Genesta involving the same designers, England lost each race.\u00a0 Galatea’s loser-owner Lieutenant William Henn (Royal Navy, retired) and his wife were unbowed. They stayed in America for a year, entertained by the gracious winners. \u00a0A further measure of the importance of these events was the inspired attention of America’s marine artists. \u00a0The market’s demand for their work was extraordinary.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Julian O. Davidson was an American artist and illustrator specializing in maritime and naval subjects, painted in formats ranging from periodical and children’s book illustrations to mural-sized canvases.\u00a0 An adventurous spirit who loved the ocean, after receiving a boarding school education and a brief apprenticeship at his father’s civil engineering firm, Davidson went off to sea at the age of 17 on the crew of a steamship sailing to the Mediterranean and Far East via the Suez Canal.\u00a0 He documented his travels in sketchbooks, and on returning to the U.S. studied art in New York with Mauritz F.H. de Haas, and was introduced to painters of the Hudson River School including Winslow Homer, Albert Bierstadt and Frederick Church.\u00a0 He forged his style from these artistic influences and his in-depth observation of the water.\u00a0 Davidson was also a championship sculler and lived near the Hudson River in Nyack, New York. \u00a0During the Civil War, his facility with marine scenes led to commissioned illustrations of naval battles for magazines such as Harper’s<\/strong> and Century.\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0Later, Davidson produced a series of major oils of naval battles from the War of 1812.\u00a0 His painting of The Battle of Lake Erie <\/strong>(1887), a large canvas over eight feet long, was displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 and is now on display at the Erie Art Museum in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 This popular image was reproduced on Pennsylvania license plates in the 1990s.\u00a0 Davidson exhibited at the National Academy of Design from 1877 until his untimely death in 1894.\u00a0 His paintings are also in the collections of the Hudson River Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and other museums.<\/p>\n Louis Prang (1824-1909) was a lithographer and wood engraver.\u00a0 He trained as a calico printer in his native Germany, but fled the country under suspicion of participation in the Revolution of 1848 and eventually emigrated to the U.S. in 1850.\u00a0 He learned wood engraving in Boston and worked at that trade until 1856 when he went into the lithography business with Julius Mayer as Prang & Mayer.\u00a0 In 1861 he established Louis Prang & Co.\u00a0 The company published a variety of hand colored lithographs and chromolithographs including views, historical subjects, illustrations of events and portraits of important figures of the Civil War, prints after paintings by famous artists including Winslow Homer, and maps.\u00a0 Prang started a successful line of Christmas cards in the 1870s as well as an annual card design contest that attracted top artists, and had a central role in popularizing the custom of sending them in America.\u00a0 He also branched out into selling art supplies — the Prang brand is still sold today.\u00a0 In addition, he published a popular series of instructional drawing books.\u00a0 Prang retired in 1899.<\/p>\n Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall toning and wear.\u00a0 Professionally cleaned with color retouched, some scattered small mostly marginal cracks and tears professionally restored.\u00a0 Faint oxidation from former wood backing. Overall with bright colors and attractive, the above condition aspects typical for separately issued prints of this period.<\/p>\n References:<\/p>\n Bloom, Loren.\u00a0 “Julian Oliver Davidson: Artist.”\u00a0 The Battle of Lake Erie Art: Julian Oliver Davidson’s Painting.<\/em>\u00a0 2008.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.battleoflakeerieart.com\/jodartist.php (28 October 2011).<\/p>\n Brewington, Dorothy E.R.\u00a0 Dictionary of Marine Artists.<\/em>\u00a0 Mystic, Connecticut: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1982.\u00a0 p. 106 (Davidson).<\/p>\n Groce, George C. and Wallace, David H.\u00a0 The New-York Historical Society\u2019s Dictionary of Artists in America 1564-1860.<\/em>\u00a0 New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969.\u00a0 p. 514 (Prang).<\/p>\n John, Anthony.\u00a0 Ian Dear, Ed.\u00a0 The Early Challenges of the America\u2019s Cup (1851-1937).<\/em>\u00a0 Sydney: Pierson, 1986.\u00a0 p. 27, pp. 53-55.<\/p>\n “Julian Oliver Davidson.”\u00a0 Askart.com.<\/em>\u00a0 2000-2011.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.askart.com\/askart\/artist.aspx?artist=80821 (28 October 2011).<\/p>\n McClinton, Katharine Morrison.\u00a0 The Chromolithographs of Louis Prang<\/em>.\u00a0 New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1973, pp. 161-162 (illus).<\/p>\n Peluso, A.J, Jr. “Mayflower Beats Galatea. Everyone Was There — Franklyn Bassford Too.”\u00a0 Maine Antique Digest.<\/em>\u00a0 August 2006.\u00a0 http:\/\/maineantiquedigest.com\/articles_archive\/articles\/aug06\/mayflower0806.htm (26 October 2011).<\/p>\n Peters, Harry T.\u00a0 America on Stone. <\/em>\u00a0U.S.: Doubleday, Doran, 1931.\u00a0 pp. 327-328.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Julian O. Davidson (1853-1894) (after) Print depicting a famous 1886 America\u2019s Cup yacht race, described in the subtitle as “between the American Sloop Mayflower and the English Cutter Galatea. Distance sailed about 38 miles. Mayflower wins by 13 minutes 18 seconds corrected time.” The yacht club associations and designers of the boats are noted in the lower margin: \u201cCutter Galatea of Royal Northern Yacht Club, designer J. Beavor-Webb; Sloop Mayflower of Eastern Yacht Club, designer Edward Burgess.” The dimensions of the boats are specified as well.<\/p>\n Product Description Continues Below<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":11065,"template":"","meta":{"wds_primary_product_brand":0,"wds_primary_product_cat":0,"footnotes":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[906],"product_tag":[4109,4219,1003,501,1004,704],"class_list":{"0":"post-11063","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-boat-sports-maritime-yacht-sailing","7":"product_tag-americas-cup","8":"product_tag-louis-prang","9":"product_tag-marine","10":"product_tag-maritime","11":"product_tag-nautical","12":"product_tag-yacht","13":"post","14":"post-with-thumbnail","15":"post-with-thumbnail-large","17":"first","18":"instock","19":"purchasable","20":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/11063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/11063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16082,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/11063\/revisions\/16082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=11063"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=11063"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=11063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe Start: America’s Cup Race Off Staten Island Sept. 7th 1886<\/strong>
\nLouis Prang & Co., Boston: 1887
\nChromolithograph
\n20.25 x 27.5 inches overall
\n$1,250<\/p>\n