Watercolour
Maker & role
Frederick Garling (b.1806, d.1873), Artist
Production date
1851
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Object detail
Title
The Moreton Bay Packet brig 'Jack', leaving Port Jackson, Sydney.
Production place
Collection
Measurements
Watercolour, H: 31 x W: 45cm (H: 310 x W: 450mm)
Subject Place
Signature & marks
- Title & date inscribed on bottom centre of mount - 'The Moreton Bay Packet Brig JACK 1851'
- Clyde Bank label (typed & handwritten label) in top right corner - 'CLYDE BANK/ 43 LOWER FORT STREET,/ THE ROCKS, SYDNEY 2000/ TELEPHONE: (02) 9241 4776/ FACSIMILE: (02) 9251 4991' (typed). P30A/ FRedeRick GARLing (1806-1873)/ The MOReton BAY Packet bRig/ 'JACK' Leaving PoRt JACKSON/ SYDney/ 1851 (handwritten).
- Handwritten in pencil on reverse of painting on left side - LOT 95 BONHAMS 4-6-98
- Clyde Bank label (typed & handwritten label) in top right corner - 'CLYDE BANK/ 43 LOWER FORT STREET,/ THE ROCKS, SYDNEY 2000/ TELEPHONE: (02) 9241 4776/ FACSIMILE: (02) 9251 4991' (typed). P30A/ FRedeRick GARLing (1806-1873)/ The MOReton BAY Packet bRig/ 'JACK' Leaving PoRt JACKSON/ SYDney/ 1851 (handwritten).
- Handwritten in pencil on reverse of painting on left side - LOT 95 BONHAMS 4-6-98
Credit line
Gift, through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2004
Caroline Simpson Collection, Museum of Sydney Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caroline Simpson Collection, Museum of Sydney Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
The Moreton Bay Packet brig 'Jack', leaving Port Jackson, Sydney (1851)
Description
Watercolour by Frederick Garling of the Moreton Bay Packet brig ‘Jack’, leaving Port Jackson, Sydney, 1851. The ‘Jack’ was a brig built at Sarillo, Maine, USA in 1844. There are several records for the ‘Jack’ in The Sydney General Trade List during 1851 and these list J. Harris as owner. John Harris (1819-1895) and his brother George founded a mercantile shipping firm in Brisbane. The firm operated during the 1850s and 1860s but was declared insolvent in 1876 and John Harris returned to England. This work was originally commissioned by the owners of the 'Jack' and is representative of the many commissions Garling received from local ship owners, a reflection of the prosperity of the shipping trade at this time and the role of Sydney as a trading port.
In this watercolour the two-masted ‘Jack’ is depicted under full sail in Darling Harbour. The background shows Miller’s Point and the western side of the town of Sydney. The signal station of Dawes Point is visible between the ship’s masts, the Military Hospital can be seen on the ridgeline to the right and below this, on the waterfront, is the Australian Gas Light Company building with its tall chimney. In the left background are the warehouses and wharves of Miller’s Point.
Frederick Garling, who as a customs officer, spent much of his working life based around Sydney Cove, was ‘undoubtedly Sydney’s most prolific marine painter’ (The Dictionary of Australian Artists…edited by Joan Kerr, Melbourne 1992, p.287). Active from the mid 1830s until the 1860s, Garling specialised in maritime painting and views of Sydney Harbour - the Sydney Morning Herald of 26 July 1847 described him as “one of our best maritime painters”. Garling painted many views of Sydney Harbour and its environs and the majority of his works are concerned with the commercial infrastructure and social activity associated with the harbour. No other colonial artist recorded the harbour’s activities and the differing aspects of its foreshores in such detail during the mid 19th century and today these works provide an extraordinary pictorial record of one of the iconic features of Sydney, its harbour.
In this watercolour the two-masted ‘Jack’ is depicted under full sail in Darling Harbour. The background shows Miller’s Point and the western side of the town of Sydney. The signal station of Dawes Point is visible between the ship’s masts, the Military Hospital can be seen on the ridgeline to the right and below this, on the waterfront, is the Australian Gas Light Company building with its tall chimney. In the left background are the warehouses and wharves of Miller’s Point.
Frederick Garling, who as a customs officer, spent much of his working life based around Sydney Cove, was ‘undoubtedly Sydney’s most prolific marine painter’ (The Dictionary of Australian Artists…edited by Joan Kerr, Melbourne 1992, p.287). Active from the mid 1830s until the 1860s, Garling specialised in maritime painting and views of Sydney Harbour - the Sydney Morning Herald of 26 July 1847 described him as “one of our best maritime painters”. Garling painted many views of Sydney Harbour and its environs and the majority of his works are concerned with the commercial infrastructure and social activity associated with the harbour. No other colonial artist recorded the harbour’s activities and the differing aspects of its foreshores in such detail during the mid 19th century and today these works provide an extraordinary pictorial record of one of the iconic features of Sydney, its harbour.
Accession number
MOS2005/9-1:2
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