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Notes
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The painting records an incident on the ‘Great Eastern’ when a buoy was caught in the paddle of the steamship. The buoys were used as markers during the attempted recovery of cable lost overboard. This event probably occurred during the laying of the transatlantic cable by the ship. In this dramatic scene the silhouette of the ship is lit by the moon looming out of the darkness. A number of figures are involved in the attempt to free the trapped buoy trapped. The ‘Great Eastern’ steamship was the third and last of Brunel’s major shipbuilding projects. It was built at the London yard of John Scott Russell and Co. and was initially known as the ‘Leviathan’. There were many problems in both building and launching the ship and it was not afloat until January 1858 when it was renamed the ‘Great Eastern’.
Despite the brilliance of Brunel’s design there were very few places with docks and harbours large enough to cope with a ship of the 'Great Eastern's' size. Although safe, passengers disliked the rolling of the ship in the Atlantic storms. 1864 the ‘Great Eastern’ was sold for a fraction of its cost to a cable laying company and was used to lay the first telegraph cable to America. She was laid up in 1874 and finally broken up in 1888.
The artist was assistant chief engineer of cable-laying aboard HMS 'Agamemnon’ when she laid the first transatlantic cable in 1857–1858 and later was chief engineer aboard the ‘Great Eastern’ when she laid the next transatlantic cable in 1865 to 1866. This painting is therefore of great interest as it is based on an eye-witness account.
Title
A Buoy Caught in the Paddle of the Steamship 'Great Eastern'
Date
c.1865
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 40.5 x W 33 cm
Accession number
BHC3381
Work type
Painting