WEST JONES ADVISORS

ROBERT SALMON (British, 1775–1845)
The Pomona of Greenock, Riding at Anchor

Signed with initials and dated “RS 1818” lower right, 1818
oil on canvas
22 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches

Robert Salmon was born in Whitefield, England on the Cumberland coast, and worked in Liverpool before moving to the port town of Greenock on the west coast of Scotland. Salmon carefully studied the great cityscapes of London and Venice by Canaletto, and would translate these lessons into masterworks portraying splendid vistas of thriving seaports from Liverpool to Boston. Salmon had spent productive years in Liverpool from 1806 to 1811, and lived in the town of Greenock, Scotland, on the Clyde Estuary, from 1811-1822, where he recorded its colorful water traffic, commercial activity, and shore scenery in over 250 paintings. In June 1828, he traveled to New York aboard the packet ship New York of the Black Ball Line with a large body of work for sale to the American market. Salmon soon made his way to Boston eager to make a name for himself. He found enthusiastic patronage among Boston’s leading citizens, and gained widespread acclaim in the 1830s and 1840s: “As a marine Painter, Mr. Salmon has never been excelled by any artist in this country.”

The Pomona of Greenock, Riding at Anchor is a wonderful example of Salmon’s unsurpassed style, suffused with a fine luminosity, and presenting a “harmonious blend of shipping, architectural, and human interest.” In one of his greatest seascapes, Salmon portrays the merchant ship Pomona anchored in the Clyde River off Greenock, preparing to set sail and ride the light breeze downriver. Figures scramble up in the yardarms and ratlines lowering sails. There is a small craft pulled up alongside the hull letting off passengers. Flying from the foremast is a beautifully painted yellow and blue checkered house flag, while the British Union Jack flies from the gaff. To the right in the foreground lies a small two-masted craft with oarsmen. A revenue cutter is seen to her right, while in the foreground a yawlboat appears with the name-pennant Caledonia, possibly rowing toward Pomona to deliver the captain with his fresh sailing orders. Salmon presents the waves before Pomona in gentle, slightly stylized ripples, and fills the sky with a golden light glowing with unusually brilliant pinks, purples and light blues.