| Thomas Dutton after Samual Walters The Model Yacht "Truant" 3½ tons. The property of R. M. Grinnell Esq. Built by Mr. R. Fish of New York 1852. The winner of three races in Liverpool and two in Ireland. 22 x 15 inches A lithograph in original hand colour by Thomas Dutton after the drawing by Samuel Walters, published in Liverpool in 1853. Thomas Dutton was an eminent draughtsman and lithographer of ships, yachts and maritime subjects after both his own designs and those of his contemporaries. He was based in London and worked for the lithographic publishing firm of William Day whose business continued after his death in 1845 under the name, Day and Son. These printing presses produced some of the most memorable lithographs from the mid Victorian period and the majority of Dutton’s output. The lithographs were often produced using a tint stone and were offered for sale either with or without colour. Dutton’s accomplished renderings of yachts, steamships, clippers and naval engagements have come to epitomise the spirit of maritime excitement and adventure that dominated the Victorian age. This was a period when Britannia ruled the waves and British supremacy at sea was a cause for great pride. Dutton was widely acclaimed in his lifetime and held regular exhibitions of his work in London. He died in 1891 having lived through one of the most exciting and expansive periods of British colonial history. The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich owns an almost complete collection of his lithographs. £1500 |
