183

c 1865 Watercolor Painting: Naval Engagement Between The Kearsarge + The Alabama

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:3,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
c 1865 Watercolor Painting: Naval Engagement Between The Kearsarge + The Alabama
Civil War
Magnificent Original Watercolor Painting of Historic Civil War Naval Battle Between “The Kearsarge & The Alabama”
c. 1865 Original Civil War Era Watercolor Painting: “Naval Engagement Between The Kearsarge & The Alabama,” Artist Signed, “R. E. Babson”; After the 1864 original by Louis Le Breton, Framed, Choice Extremely Fine.
Exceptional Original Watercolor Painting, on artists paper measuring 13.25” x 20” (by sight), framed to fully to 20.25” x 25.5”, Artist Signed, “R. E. Babson” in black at lower right corner; After the original 1864 Hand-colored lithograph by “LEBRETON” (France) with his name in black at the lower left corner. Professionally, ornately modern framed in period art gallery style, protected with special UV Plexiglas, providing a gorgeous presentation which is ready to hand on display.

This magnificent original artwork is extensively detailed and vivid in its rich color, showing the Civil War battle off the coast of France between the Union Navy U.S.S. Kearsarge and the Confederate Navy C.S.S. Alabama. This artwork has wonderful highlights of the men on the decks of both ships, rescue and evacuation boats in the water, the white-capped, choppy ocean waves, and billowing clouds of smoke from the cannon fire. The Confederate flag flies on the Alabama as she sinks, while on the Kearsarge, the Stars and Stripes fly above the Confederate flag. The scene is bright and clean, with smoke from the battle in the skies above the ships. The watercolor is tipped to a larger heavy posterboard, which serves to present Hand-lettered Captions below the image. The posterboard has a sealed break at the bottom right edge reaching just to the handpainted final letter “E” of “KEARSARGE” of the caption, none of which is anywhere near or touches the original painted artwork. This is a choice historical period watercolor being taken after the original design for the famous engraved 1864 French lithograph by Louis Le Breton.

The C.S.S. Alabama was a screw Sloop-of-war built for the Confederacy in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Co., Liverpool, England. Under Captain Raphael Semmes, the Alabama plundered U.S. merchant ships for over two years, capturing and burning ships in the North Atlantic and intercepting American grain ships bound for Europe. The American sloop-of-war Kearsarge, under the direction of Captain Winslow, engaged the Alabama as it was leaving Cherbourg, France, and sank it on June 19, 1864. While Kearsarge rescued most of Alabama's survivors, Captain Semmes and 41 others were picked up by the British yacht Deerhound and escaped to England.
The original 1864 Hand-colored lithograph on wove paper was by Louis Le Breton, French, (1818 - 1866), titled: COMBAT NAVAL ENTRE LE KEARSARGE ET L'ALABAMA (NAVAL ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE KEARSARGE AND THE ALABAMA).

Inscriptions below the scene are Signed, on stone, lower right: LEBRETON; printed, lower left: "ALABAMA" Capt.n Semmes; center: Lebreton Dessinateur aux Cartes et Plans de la Marine; right: "KEARSARGE" Capt.n Winslow.; center: COMBAT NAVAL ENTRE LE KEARSARGE & L'ALABAMA/Livre le 19 Juin 1864 en vue de Cherbourg. (France) An original copy in the collection of the Hood Museum of Art, at Dartmouth.