A ship in the moonlight
an atmospheric evocation of a ship in the moonlight. Everett has exploited the dark tones of the paper to enhance the visual effect of night-time. The length of the paper emphasizes the visual relationship between moon, sky, sea and ship. The ship has been painted with very few brush strokes of dark paint with mustard yellow for the funnel and post in the foreground. The sky is loosely painted using dark tones to complement the sea and the moon is shown low down in the sky. Its brilliant effect is reflected in the water in the foreground which adds to the ethereal quality of the sketch. It was made during everett's trip on the barque, 'birkdale'. His first journey after world war i, he sailed from bristol to sabine pass, texas, april to june 1920. The 'birkdale' was due to take sulphur from texas to the cape, but when she arrived in texas the ship was re-chartered to australia and so everett reluctantly left her and came home by steamer. The 'birkdale', built in 1892, was the last barque to fly the red ensign and spent nearly all her working life in the chilean nitrate trade. For a short time after world war i she switched to taking sulphur from texas to the cape. The 'birkdale' went back to the nitrate trade and was wrecked on the chilean coast after catching fire in 1927. A ship in the moonlight. Object Type: painting. Date: 1920. Dimensions: 355 x 255 mm. Collection: Oil paintings. A Ship in the Moonlight RMG BHC1357
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