About this lot

Description

Arthur James Wetherall Burgess, ROI, VPSMA (Australian, 1879-1957) SS Gretafield; and Charles Ernest Butler (British, 1864-1933), SS Oilfield, the first signed lower right "Arthur Burgess" and the second signed lower left "C E Butler '24" oil on canvas (a pair) 65 x 105cm (25 x 41in)
SS Oilfield was a tank steamship launched by the Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Co. Ltd in Newcastle in 1923. It had several owners; including the Mid-Atlantic Shipping Co. Ltd and the Spanish government, which salvaged it in 1941 after being damaged during the Spanish Civil War in an air attack. Only in 1967, did it get demolished at Castellon. SS Gretafield was a tank steamship that was launched by Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd, Birkenhead for the Northern Petroleum Tank Steam Ship Company in 1928. The steamship was active in the Second World War and sadly in 1940, whilst on Admiralty service, it was torpedoed by a German submarine, causing the death of eleven people on board. The wreckage was washed up at Dunbeath, near Wick, and was abandoned as a total loss.
SS Gretafield Oil on canvas which in unlined. The canvas tension is slack with slight undulations across the surface. There is retouching in the sky which appears to cover old areas of loss and abrasion. Overall the paint layer is stable. There is an uneven varnish layer which is yellowed with drip marks. The frame is in a good condition although the gilding on the name plaque is worn. SS Oldfield Oil on canvas which is unlined. The canvas is in plane with good tension. There is a small patch on the reverse covering a damage in the lower left hand corner. There is also a slight concave undulation near the top of the canvas, left if centre, which has been filled and retouched. Overall the paint layer is in a good, stable condition and is unvarnished.

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