01 Classic Work of Art, Marine Paintings - With Footnotes, #211

Henry Bacon

La Bretagne

Oil on board

10 1/2 x 13 3/4in (26.8 x 35cm)

Private Collection

SS La Bretagne was an ocean liner that sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique from her launch in 1886 to 1912, sailing primarily in transatlantic service on the North Atlantic. Sold to Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique in 1912, she sailed for that company under her original name and, later, as SS Alesia on France–South America routes. The liner was sold for scrapping in the Netherlands in December 1923, but was lost while being towed. More on SS La Bretagne 

Henry Bacon (1839 in Haverhill, Massachusetts – 13 March 1912 in Cairo) was an American painter and author. Hewas born in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1839. During the American Civil War, he and acted as a field artist for Frank Leslie's Weekly while he served as a soldier within the 13th Massachusetts Infantry. Badly wounded at Bull Run, he was discharged on 19 December 1862.

After the war, he studied art with Walter Gay, who suggested that he travel to Paris to undertake a formal art education. In 1864, he went to Paris. He was admitted to the National School of Fine Arts and was one of Alexandre Cabanel's scholars. 

He exhibited at the salon from 1868 through to 1896 with genre works which had found favour with the American market. He also worked as a journalist sending reports of events in Paris to the Boston Daily Evening Transcript. In 1897, he travelled to Egypt for the first time and began regularly spending Winters there. At that time, he switched from oils to watercolours which he believed was the optimal medium to capture the transparent light of the Middle East.

Bacon died of a heart attack in Cairo, Egypt in 1912. More on Henry Bacon

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.