$22,140
M. Renault (France, 19th Century) Ship Houghton Wm. G. Percy Commander, entering the Port of Leghorn, November 24th, 1862. Signed "Painted by M. Renault" and identified in the legend. Oil on canvas, 20 x 34 1/2 in., in a molded giltwood frame. Condition: Relined, retouch primarily to open areas of water and sky. Note: The Houghton was a full-rigged ship built and originally owned by Levi Houghton & Sons in Bath, Maine, in 1849. In an entry in the Annual Report on Foreign Commerce (published in Executive Documents printed by order of The House of Representatives during the Third Session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress ), dated December 31, 1862, it is stated that there were quite a few American vessels (presumably the Houghton was one) arrived or expected in the last quarter of that year. The optimistic writer speculates that this "respectable showing" indicated increased future trade through that Italian port alone - in export products such as marble, olive oil, silk, soap, and wine (the last of which he speculates "will speedily find [its] way to the markets of the world"), pp. 517-518.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2017-03-04
