1970s Civil War Ironclad Ship "Banshee", Oil on Board Painting by Graham Flight

Description

According to a handwritten note on the back of the painting: "Blockade runner 'C.S.S. Banshee' built in Liverpool by Jones … more According to a handwritten note on the back of the painting: "Blockade runner 'C.S.S. Banshee' built in Liverpool by Jones Quiggin in 1863 a pioneer of steel hulls L. 214, T. 533 armed and equipped and delivered to Confederate Navy in Bermuda." Though portrayed here as sailing under the Confederate flag, Banshee only successfully ran seven round trip voyages between Bermuda and Wilmington, North Carolina over 7 months before being captured by USS Grand Gulf and the US Army Transport Fulton in November 1863 en route to Wilmington. She would then be sent north to be purchased by the US Navy in 1864 and converted to a gunboat, commissioned in June 1864 as the USS Banshee. She would finish out the war with the US Navy, serving with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron before joining the Potomac Flotilla operating in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Sold to enter commercial service in November 1865, she operated until at least the 1890s.

This side-wheel steam ship is wonderfully captured in this skillful oil on board painting by Graham Flight, an American artist born in 1944 known for his skillful nautical works. Signed in the bottom right corner Graham Flight '74 and marked 1 of 4 on the back, the painting measures 30 inches wide and 21 inches tall and is mounted in a black frame with subtle gold detailing measuring 32 1/2 inches wide, 23 3/8 inches tall, and 1 inch deep, with a wire to hang. less