Large Antique Maritime Oil of the Square Rigger Wiscombe Park c.1910-1917

Details

Description

Large Antique Maritime Oil of the Square Rigger Wiscombe Park c.1910-1917

A dramatic large-scale early 20th-century marine oil portraying the … Read more Large Antique Maritime Oil of the Square Rigger Wiscombe Park c.1910-1917

A dramatic large-scale early 20th-century marine oil portraying the historic three-masted steel sailing ship *Wiscombe Park* at sea. Rich in nautical detail and British-Australian maritime history, the unsigned work is cautiously attributed to Australian ship painter Reginald Arthur Borstel (1875-1922).

Highlights

Attributed to Reginald Arthur Borstel (1875-1922)

Circa 1910-1917

Oil on canvas, unsigned

Large horizontal marine painting

Canvas approximately 59 x 90 cm

Framed approximately 74.5 x 105.5 cm

Historic 281 ft, approximately 2,228-ton sailing ship

Built by John Blumer & Co., Sunderland

Probable G. Windram & Co. house flag

Separate Borstel *Wiscombe Park* documented in 1917

Later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt frame

**Introduction**

With her towering three-masted rig and extensive spread of sail, *Wiscombe Park* creates a powerful focal point across this substantial horizontal marine composition.

The painting is also remarkably documentary. Crew figures populate the deck, the intricate rigging is carefully rendered and *WISCOMBE PARK* is clearly visible upon the bow. A Red Ensign, Union Flag and prominent red house flag add further maritime detail.

The house flag appears to carry reversed "GW&Co" lettering, suggesting G. Windram & Co. of Liverpool. Subsequent research has also identified a separate 1917 portrait of *Wiscombe Park* under the name of Australian maritime painter Reginald Arthur Borstel. The present canvas is a different composition and remains cautiously attributed to Borstel.

Catalogue Details

Artist / Attribution: Attributed to Reginald Arthur Borstel (Australian, 1875-1922)

Title: *Portrait of the Three-Masted Square Rigger Wiscombe Park*

Date: Circa 1910-1917

Medium: Oil on canvas

Signed: Unsigned

Vessel: *Wiscombe Park*

Type: Three-masted steel full-rigged general cargo sailing ship

Builder: John Blumer & Co., Sunderland

Yard Number: 117

Launched: 4 November 1891

Completed: 1892

Original Owning Company: Ship "Wiscombe Park" Co. Ltd.

Managers: G. Windram & Co., Liverpool

Official Number: 99361

Signal Letters: WLBP

Tonnage: Approximately 2,228 tons

Length: Approximately 281 ft

Breadth: Approximately 42.2 ft

Canvas: Approximately 59 x 90 cm

Framed: Approximately 74.5 x 105.5 x 1.5 cm

Frame: Later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt frame

Catalogue Note

Previously catalogued as English School, early 20th century, the painting has subsequently been researched in considerably greater depth.

A separate portrait of *Wiscombe Park* recorded under Reginald Arthur Borstel's name is dated 1917. That work differs from the present painting in both composition and dimensions and does not authenticate this canvas. Its importance lies in establishing *Wiscombe Park* as a documented Borstel subject.

The apparent "GW&Co" house flag may provide an additional historical clue. If correctly identified with G. Windram & Co., it suggests that the vessel is represented in her earlier pre-1911 appearance. The canvas itself could nevertheless have been executed subsequently from an earlier photograph.

The present work is therefore cautiously catalogued as attributed to Reginald Arthur Borstel, circa 1910-1917.

Scale & Decorative Presence

The ship represented was itself monumental in scale.

At approximately 281 feet long and around 2,228 tons, *Wiscombe Park* was a substantial steel ocean-going merchant vessel rather than a small coastal sailing ship.

Her soaring three-masted rig translates particularly successfully into the wide composition, while the later gilt frame gives the painting a strong architectural presence suitable for a large living room, library, study or entrance hall.

The Artist - Reginald Arthur Borstel

Sydney-born Borstel specialised in portraits of identifiable commercial sailing ships.

His documentary maritime practice has important associations with photography and the Australian tradition of ship portraiture.

Recorded subjects include *John Ena*, *West Lothian*, *Port Jackson*, *Speedonia* and *Wiscombe Park*.

The Historic Wiscombe Park

John Blumer & Co. constructed *Wiscombe Park* in steel at Sunderland as yard number 117.

Launched in November 1891 and completed in 1892, she was built for Ship "Wiscombe Park" Co. Ltd., with G. Windram & Co. of Liverpool acting as managers.

At approximately 281 feet long, her 2,228-ton hull was designed for international deep-sea cargo service.

Her three-masted full-rigged configuration was increasingly distinctive among large commercial sailing ships as four-masted barques became more prominent.

British & International Career

*Wiscombe Park* passed to Chadwick, Wainwright & Co. in 1911.

In 1919 she entered French ownership and became *Edouard Bureau*.

During the 1920s she subsequently entered German ownership and was adapted for sail-training service.

The Australian Connection

Australia formed an important part of the vessel's trading career.

Records document Australian-bound activity during the 1910s and place *Wiscombe Park* in Australian waters in 1917.

That year is particularly relevant because the separately documented Borstel portrait of the ship is also dated 1917.

Flags & Dating Evidence

The prominent red house flag appears to carry reversed "GW&Co" lettering, strongly suggesting G. Windram & Co.

If correctly identified, the flag may preserve the ship's earlier Windram-associated appearance before 1911.

The physical painting need not have been produced at exactly the same time, since a maritime artist could have worked from an earlier photographic source.

Dating the Painting

The painting is cautiously dated circa 1910-1917.

This range accommodates the apparent earlier configuration of the vessel together with the documented Borstel connection established by the separate 1917 painting.

Final Voyage

In 1927 *Wiscombe Park* departed Port Pirie, South Australia, carrying wheat towards Europe.

After a severe passage around Cape Horn she eventually reached British waters but subsequently grounded on Twin Rocks in the Irish Sea.

Although refloated, repairs were considered uneconomic and the veteran sailing vessel was ultimately broken up.

Wiscombe Park in Maritime Art

The ship also attracted British marine painter Herbert Barnard John Everett.

Everett boarded *Wiscombe Park* at Ipswich in 1921 and made sketches aboard her. Several resulting works are preserved by Royal Museums Greenwich.

The documented Borstel and Everett connections provide an unusually rich artistic history for this particular merchant sailing vessel.

Research Status

The painting remains unsigned and the attribution is deliberately qualified.

Research continues into the precise date, definitive identification of the house flag and whether a historic photographic source corresponding closely with this composition survives.

Provenance

Private collection, Northern England.

David Duggleby Auctioneers & Valuers, Scarborough, January 2025, Lot 4020.

Subsequently acquired by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Earlier provenance remains under investigation.

Dimensions

Framed: 74.5 x 105.5 x 1.5 cm

Canvas: Approximately 59 x 90 cm

Condition Report

Offered in historic condition consistent with age.

The painted surface displays extensive craquelure, staining, surface wear, abrasion and localised paint disturbance.

Several historic canvas patches and repairs are visible verso and correspond with repaired tears and areas of restoration and retouching. Further localised paint loss and stretcher impressions are present.

The later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt frame has minor imperfections and wear.

Please study all photographs carefully as part of the condition report.

Research Sources

Royal Museums Greenwich / National Maritime Museum - historic *Wiscombe Park* photography, vessel history and Herbert Barnard John Everett works.

Design & Art Australia Online - Reginald Arthur Borstel biography and bibliography.

Naval Historical Society of Australia - Borstel maritime research.

Neville Pamment - specialist Borstel study, *The Great Circle*, 2018.

Daina Fletcher - Australian maritime-art and photography research.

NSW Shipping Master's Office / *Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters*.

Falkland Islands National Archives.

Historical 1917 Borstel *Wiscombe Park* record.

Christie's - documented Borstel *West Lothian* comparator.

Bonhams - documented Borstel *John Ena* and *Port Jackson* comparators.

Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales - Borstel *Speedonia*, 1915.

John Blumer & Co. / Sunderland shipbuilding research.

David Duggleby Auctioneers & Valuers.


Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution

The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.


Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®

Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.

Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.

Additional photographs and further information are available upon request. See less