Henry Scott: Clipper Ship South Australian in Heavy Seas

Henry Scott: Clipper Ship South Australian in Heavy Seas This oil painting on canvas shows South Australian, rolling to port and carrying only six main sails and one jib. The port light gleams on the rail. It is signed and has a label on the frame stating ‘Henry Scott’. English, Henry Scott (1911-2005).

Provenance: Purchased from MacConnal-Mason and Son Ltd. London in 2002 for $10,200 (receipt included). 

Henry Scott (1911-2005) was a British marine artist noted for his ships’ portraits and coastal subjects. He executed several paintings of British and American clippers for wealthy patrons. In 1970 Scott was commissioned to paint ‘Morning Cloud’ which was skippered and owned by the then Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Edward Heath, P.C., M.B.E., M.P. He exhibited at the Society of Marine Artists, The Royal Exchange, London, The Guildhall, London and The Royal Academy. Abroad he staged shows at the St. Malo Museum, France and Madison Square, New York. He was honoured as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and awarded an honorary life membership of the International Association of Master Mariners.

South Australian was built by William Pile, Sunderland in 1868. For nearly two decades she voyaged annually between London and South Australia. After being sold in 1887 she operated out of Belfast carrying cargo to India and New Brunswick. She sank in the Bristol Channel in 1889, with the loss of one crew member, when her load of iron railway rails shifted and holed her below the waterline.