CLIPPER SHIP SEA WITCH (1846 - 1856)
OIL ON CANVAS by Robert Jordan ( - 2008)

 

Oil on canvas                                             20th Century

Viewing area 23 1/2 x 35 1/2                    Framed 32" x 44"

Signed LR Robert Jordan                          Dated  11/18/98

 

Presented is an oil on canvas by the contemporary artist Robert Jordan, of the famous American Clipper Ship Sea Witch, as she looked look in the 1860's. The ship portrait is in the simple non-dimensional style, of the China Trade School, in appearance. The grey, blue treatment of the sea and overcast sky lends to this moody scene of storm tossed seas. Sea Witch is under shortened sail with her uppers furled, her outer jibs down and secured with only a few working sails and the mizzen course to catch the wind. Her black hull has gold scroll work on the trailboard and on the rubbing strake, with a black sheer line which is a typical scheme of this period. The figurehead was a Chinese dragon with an open mouth and a partly coiled tail.  She is sailing close to the wind, gracefully cutting through fairly heavy seas with a "bone in her teeth". There is a rocky coast line off her starboard bow. The American ensign has 48 Stars,and the ship is shown hard over on the starboard tack with the tiny ensign flying from her mizzen. The vessel's name is on her bow. Only the figures of three men remain on deck.

Unframed signed lower right

The sky is a hazy grey blue with a turbulent sea which sets the mood of this windswept ship painting.  A heavy custom frame is included. The condition of the painting is without blemish, front and back. It was purchased at auction in New England.                  

 

Close-up of Clipper Bow Section  shown over the stern section

 

Howland & Aspinwall gave the command of the Sea Witch to Captain Robert Waterman, known in the trade as "Bully Bob" Waterman. In 1847, under Waterman, she made a record-setting run from Hong Kong to New York in 77 days. She lowered this record to 74 days under the same captain in 1849. This March 1849 mark is one of the longest-lived human speed records, bettered only in May 2003 by the trimaran "Great American II" in 72 days and 21 hour. Sea Witch continues to hold the Hong Kong-New York record for a mono hulled sailing vessel.

Voyages. After gold was discovered in California, the Sea Witch's owners, Howland & Aspinwall, transferred her from the China trade to the new Cape Horn run from the East Coast to San Francisco. In early 1850 the Sea Witch completed this passage in 97 days, the first vessel ever to do so in less than 100 days.

Later in the 1850s the Sea Witch physically deteriorated and her place in the fast-freight trade was taken over by newer vessels. The aging clipper ship was reassigned to serve as a steerage vessel carrying immigrants to the Western Hemisphere. In 1856, with approximately 500 immigrants from China on board, she ran aground 12 miles (19 km) west of Havana. Credit Wikipedia

Jordan's signature lower right date 11/19/98

 A ship portrait in a distinctively Chinese style and appearance that is worthy of an marine art aficionado

Career (United States)
Name:	Sea Witch
Owner:	Howland & Aspinwall New York
Builder:	Smith & Dimon, New York
Launched:	Dec. 8, 1846       Sunk 1856
Fate:	Wrecked on a reef 12 miles off Havana Cuba
General characteristics
Class & type:	Extreme clipper
Tons burthen:	908 tons
Length:	170 ft. 3 in.
Beam:	33 ft. 11 in.
Draft:	19 ft.

 

ARTIST"S BIOGRAPHY: There is no official published biography of this artist. Our research has determined the following:

Robert Jordan showed at the Far Gallery in New York which is long gone. After his death some of his works were sold by his sister at auction in 2008.

Robert Jordan was said to be a gentle, creative artist by a number of those that knew him in St. Louis. There he worked at the architectural studio of David Davis where he developed the field sketches brought back from locations near Taos, NM and S. Conway, NH. Davis says Jordan donated a large painting of his WWII bomber crew to the National Aerospace Museum soon after its opening. He seemed most proud when I returned from a visit to Washington DC, and recounted how his painting had dominated the NAM gallery wall.  Davis says that years later,he was told that Bob had died, and his sister was caretaker of his inventory of unsold paintings. Upon departing the Davis studio, he had moved from St. Louis, to North Carolina, 

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