water: a boy and his dog

Subject:  Boy and Dog Looking Out to Sea

Title:  Unknown

Artist:  D. Gillander

Date:  Unknown, c. mid to late 20^th century

Size: 20″ x 24″

Media:  Paint on canvas

A boy and his dog is a classic theme.  A dog is man’s best friend.  This duo touches the memory and emotions.

I can’t quite remember why this painting clicks in my head.  It seems familiar.  I think it is using the style and colors of an illustrator from the 1960s or 70s.  Maybe it’s Joan Walsh Anglund, b. 1926.

Another possibility might be the illustrator Susan Perl, 1922-1983.

It is not hard to find results for an internet search for, “painting boy dog sea.”  Turns out to be a popular subject, and the styles are quite diverse.  There is also a webpage, wallpaperboat.com/sad-boy-wallpapers.

The oldest one I found is “Outward Bound (The Stay at Homes/Looking Out to Sea),” a story illustration for Ladies’ Home Journal, by Norman Rockwell in October 1927.  According to the Norman Rockwell Museum, “In the summer of 1912, Rockwell spent three months studying painting with Charles Hawthorne in Provinctown, Massachusettes. Hawthorne had studied plein air painting (painting out-of-doors) with William Merritt Chase. In Rockwell’s painterly treatment of the roofs, waves, trees, grass and man’s trousers, we see the influence of Chase’s impressionistic style.” (1)

This painting is signed D. Gillander in the lower right corner.  I am confident that this is not the Canadian artist David Gillanders, b. 1968.  I think the artist could be a local hobbyist, since the painting was purchased at a thrift store for less than $10 and is unframed.

This is a baby blue painting of a boy and his dog at the end of the pier.  They are looking into the distance, into the sea and sky, into the horizon.  Are they longing to leave?  Are they waiting for someone to return?  A young person might stare into the future with wistful hope.  Men sail the wide ocean for fortune and adventure. To test themselves and to make their reputations.  A young person might wish to escape his dull village.  This boy is ready with his sailor’s uniform.

He faces more than water.  The fishing boat is headed away.  It’s nets are poised to capture fish.  On the far distant shore, a building points into the sky.  Is it a lighthouse or a church?  It points up to a single bird in heaven.  Most of this painting is a troubled cloudy sky.

Could this sea bird refer to older paintings of the dove of the Holy Ghost descending to bless the young Son beginning His earthly ministry?  The bird is certainly in the center of the composition.  It flies over the cross-shaped mast of the fishing boat.  These symbols are not unknown to the Christian eye.

The writing on the back of this stretched canvas says, “FLS 1143,” and “HOB $75.”

If you would like to own a custom painting of you and your dog on a dock, it costs $55 from unifury.com.  (2)

Sources:

1. Rockwell’s Outward Bound.  https://prints.nrm.org/detail/281623/rockwell-outward-bound-the-stay-at-homes-looking-out-to-sea-1927
2. Unifury custom art. https://unifury.com/products/dog-2271

water: tall ship, tall tale

Subject:  Sailing Ship on the Sea

Title:  Unknown

Artist:  Norman Walker, signed lower right

Date:  possibly c. 1970s

Media:  Oil on board

Size:  8” x 10”

Frame:  Black and Gold, marked Hecho En Mexico

This ship is sailing the ocean blue.  It leans into the white capped waves. It’s so tall we can’t see the top.  We can’t see the flags.  It is armed with cannon along the white stripe on the black hull.  No land is in sight.

This brings to mind the romance and danger of the sailing age.  Are there pirates?  Is the cargo gold?  Passengers, troops, convicts, or slaves?

This tall ship could be a clipper (1775-1880s), or it could be a Blackwall frigate (1830-1870s). Not being a nautical expert, I’ll wait for someone else to tell.  Blackwall frigates had black hulls with a white stripe (1).  Frigates are built for speed and maneuverability, and clippers are even faster.  They could have more than 28 cannons for defense.   English frigates brought trade and tea from India and China by way of the Cape of Good Hope.

The Madagascar, the second Blackwall frigate, went missing in 1853.  It was transporting cargo from Australia to London.  It was loaded with wool, rice, 110 passengers and two tonnes of gold. Before the ship left the dock, Melborne police boarded and arrested several escaped convicts–bushrangers.  The Madagascar left port and was never seen again.  This mystery is behind many sea stories and tall tales. One-eighth share in the Madagascar was held by William Harrison Walker (2).

This oil painting is signed by Norman Walker.  He is a mystery to internet searches.  Who is he?  When did he paint?  Where?  Why did he disappear?

It is not hard to find maritime paintings by Norman Walker.  Many of them are versions of this very ship.  Many of them are larger, and can be sold for up to $300.00.

This painting is decorative wall art from the 1970s, said art expert Nora (3.)  “Most were sold through ‘starving artist’ shows held in motels at that time and through furniture stores. The marine tall ship painting is signed Norman Walker. These are not highly listed artists.” (3)

Gaze at this art on your wall and imagine the spray of salt sea air and the wind in your hair.  Be transported, but don’t get lost.

Sources:

1. Blackwall frigate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwall_frigate
2. Madagascar frigate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(1837_ship)
3. Just Answer Antiques. https://www.justanswer.com/antiques/as0bi-oil-paintings-know.html