The Clipper Brig “Lanrick” off Singapore

Location

Country: Singapore
City: Singapore
Place: British High Commission

This coloured lithograph shows the clipper brig ‘Lanrick’ under the command of Thomas B. White off Singapore. The ship’s fore- and mainsails are reefed as it sails to the right. A figure in the rowing boat waves to the crew whilst the ship crosses its bows. Another version of this print can be found in the Royal Museums Greenwich. An inscription underneath this print informs us that it was dedicated to Andrew Jardine Esq. of Lanrick Castle (1812-1881) by William Foster. Lanrick Castle was a late 18th-century country estate in Perthshire which was demolished in 2002. In the 19th century, the property was passed on from the MacGregor family to the Jardine family. The latter was involved in founding a trading conglomerate in Canton (now Guangzhou), China. The firm was formally registered in July 1832 by former East India Company merchant and surgeon William Jardine (1784-1843) and his partner James Matheson (1796-1878), under the name of ‘Jardine, Matheson and Company’. By 1841, the Jardines had 19 intercontinental clipper ships, including ‘the Lanrick’, which were employed for trading smuggled opium, tea and cotton.

Thomas Goldsworth Dutton, draughtsman and lithographer of shipping subjects, produced engravings after his own designs as well as after those of his contemporaries. His engravings include views of warships, yachts and yachting races, P&O steam ships, clippers and naval engagements. He was based in London and worked for Day & Son. His prints were usually available with or without hand-colouring. Dutton exhibited 15 sea pieces, mainly watercolours, at the Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street between 1858 and 1879. He lived at addresses in Wandsworth and Stockwell, London.

Places

Far East, Singapore

Subjects

rowing boat, topography, seascape/coastal scene, mountain, hill, cliff, wave, sailboat, brig

Materials & Techniques

lithograph, colour lithograph

Artist

Thomas Goldsworth Dutton (c.1819 - 1891)
Day and Son

Title

The Clipper Brig “Lanrick” off Singapore

Date

Medium

Colour lithograph

Dimensions

height: 28.50 cm, width: 45.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Parker Gallery, March 1973

Inscription

handwritten in pencil, verso: The Clipper Brig Lanrick off Singapore / Thomas B. White Commander.

GAC number

10052