Antonio Jacobsen painting restored

Presented here is the painting of Antonio Jacobsen restored!

You will find the former condition on a picture further in this Blog. 

While painted on cardboard, humidity caused small accidents on the 

painting surface which have been professionally removed. At first 

the painting was put up for sale after an extensive restoration by

an art gallery in England for GBP 40.000 but later it has been 

auctioned by Christies where it has been hammered for 

18.000 GBP.

Antonio Jacobsen Painting

Though Jacobsen mostly painted ships that had a
prominent role in his paintings, the surroundings here

have been done with a lot of care. He did some paintings

in which other subjects were presented but up

untill now I haven't been able to find a painting like this
on the internet. The Mariners Museum do have some though.

Examination of the back however proves that this painting

could be from 1910 as it has been dated underneath the signature.

Furthermore the painting is not in a great condition and needs

restaurationwork but careful examination of other works from
Jacobsen are showing the same minors. To our believe it is
really worth the money as the expression in this painting is

really good and carries the moods found in these kind of

landscapes. This is a so called Side wheel Steamer if we are 

right. Jacobsen has offered us a view looking south, from 

Little Stony Pointon the east side of the Hudson River, to 

Storm King Mountain, on the west side of the river (1638‘ high) 

and on to Crow’s Nest to the left (1405’ high). See Map 

of the Hudson River, copyright 1894, by Wallace Bruce.

As this painting depicts the Hudson river that is what makes
it rather curious as Jacobsen liked to stay there spending
days just looking at the surroundings changing their colours
during the daytime and fall of the evening.
Oil on panel in goldpainted frame. Dimensions 22  / 36 inch.

We received this information after having visited various auction 

houses in the U.S.A. but nobody dared to confirm this to be a 

genuine Antonio Jacobsen. With the help of the Mariners Museum

I had contact with the expert in this field and although there were

costs involved, his report was worth every penny. But sometimes

it takes a lot of effort to come to a positive result!

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF ANTONIO JACOBSEN (1850 - 1921)

Known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels," Antonio Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and received his art training there at the Royal Academy. Jacobsen immigrated to American in 1871 and took a job painting decorations on commercial safes for the Marvin Safe Company in New York City. With the encouragement of a steamship company, Jacobsen turned his attention toward portraits of ships and marine images. In 1880 he relocated his studio and residence permanently to West Hoboken, New Jersey.

Even if Antonio Jacobsen had left us but a few ship portraits from the late 1870’s he would have earned lasting recognition as a talented marine artist.  We could count on depictions of live ships on live seas – seas which his early enthusiasm could not keep under control. 

Ironically, had Jacobsen produced fewer paintings, regardless of period, he might be more noted as a marine artist today.  With incredible energy he created at least 2400 known works (and possibly as many as 6000), more than enough to surfeit those trying to judge his artistry. 

But Jacobsen’s paintings deserve better than to be placed end-on-end in monotonous assembly-line fashion. 

Antonio Jacobsen arrived in New York in 1873, more a musician by profession than an artist.  By 1876 he was listed in the New York City Directory as an artist, indicating a quick resolve to pursue this new vocation.  New and untried as it apparently was to him, he plunged into it, mastered it, and carried it on with a consuming energy.  During all but his last few years Jacobsen enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle, which reflected the financial success of his life’s work.  As to his artistry, viewers of this exhibition can hardly fail but be impressed. 

Jacobsen deserves to be remembered for what he painted as much as for how he painted.  We need to stress the wide range of vessel types and sizes which, drawn by the commercial magnetism of the port of New York, paraded together before Jacobsen’s eyes, to be ultimately captured on his canvases.  Sail and steam, commercial and naval, large and small, all manner of craft found representation in his work. 

His clients – mostly ships’ officers, crewmen and owners – demanded accuracy.  And accuracy was what they received.  So well, in fact, did he document this parade of ships – and New York’s importance as a port – that he deserves the dual titles of marine historian and marine artist.

As a method of an advertisement, Jacobsen would frequently add his address, 705 Palisade Av., West Hoboken, N.J. below his signature. At times, he employed his two sons, Carl and Alphonse, to paint the water and sky, leaving Jacobsen the task of delineating the ship itself. His images of the ships were often based on the plans and blueprints supplied by the companies.

Painting with Frame

As the painting is allready quite big itself they've putted

a robust frame around it that must have been quite expensive itself.

We think it could have been the original one as more of

these frames are seen around paintings of these times.
After a lot of research and consulting some experts we can say
that the Hudson river steamboat with two funnels athwart ships with
a walking beam behind and with two covered decks is the Onteora,
launched in 1898 at Newburgh, New York.

To really know the name of a boat even boosts the value

of paintings like this but it remains an "unusual" painting

by this artist and therefore it took so much time to have

it properly valued and acknowledged.

Sidewheel Steamer "The Onteora".

As the ships more than often were the part Antonio Jacobsen

painted himself we think this could have been the case here as well.

It is said that the water and background surroundings were executed by
some of his sons towards the end of his carrier though there is no
evident proof for this story.

The ship itself has been executed with less care but that can
be explained by the more humble role the ship plays in this work.
Though the name of the boat can't be read it appears to be obvious
that Jacobsen didn't paint a pro-forma steamboat, simply for effect.

Many thanks to the expert Mr. Anthony Peluso Jr. who
helped us regarding this subject. It is the "Onteora".

Signature comparison

Known for adding the year of production Jacobsen

often added a date and mostly a year .

This signature has a normal look studying it under blacklight.

Connaisseurs allready proclaimed the signature is spot on!

Regarding the signature this appears to be authentic

in the lifetime schedule of Antonio Jacobsen.

The humidity damages can be seen quite clearly here.

The painting has been made in 1910.

Back of this Painting

Mostly the back of a painting tells more about originality

a.s.o. In order to make it possible for people

interested to do their investigations I made

this picture. Dimensions of this  painting: 56 / 91 cm.
or 22 / 36 inch that was quite often used by Jacobsen.
We think these panels were pretty standard and available
at different shops around the country. Furthermore
it has been confirmed in literature that the later works
of Jacobsen mostly were painted on academy board.

The minor thing is that these academy board are prone

to humidity and the paint simply bursts on several

places over the entire painting. You can clearly see

that around the signature causing an extensive

restoration needed.