Pleasure Cruising
The evolution of sailing as a mode of transport into a recreational sport is chronicled in an exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum
The evolution of sailing as a mode of transport into a recreational sport is chronicled in an exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum
At one point in time, oceans and waterways were simply another cog in the industrial machine—a means for the transportation of goods and people in need of traveling long
distances to places separated by large bodies of water. By the mid-19th century, however, sailing and aquatic transportation began to evolve into something entirely different. a shift from what was once considered the highways of industry and commerce, sailing developed into a leisurely pastime for the wealthy .after the
Civil War, more and more Americans were finding the time to take pleasure cruises, and for the British upper class, the expensive hobby—referred to as yachting—was popular since the late 18th century.
The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, draws from a collection of key paintings, photographs, furnishings, racing trophies, ship models and salvaged materials from significant boats in an exhibition that explores this weighty history with roots deeply embedded in the New England region. Sport and Leisure: Sailing on the Sound, referring to the Long Island Sound, guides visitors all the way to the 20th century, chronicling its growth through the many stories that accompany objects featured in the show.
“We wanted to represent the early- to mid-19th-century story of commerce and how it transformed into a playground for those with wealth and
more free time.we actually did so with a very carefully curated selection of just a few works of art. Each object is very important in the story it tells and the transition that it makes,” says Brandy S. Culp, Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum, who curated the show alongside Brenda Milkofsky, founding director of the Connecticut River Museum.
A standout in the exhibition is a painting by Julius L. Stewart, titled
On they acht “Namouna, ”venice. The oil features a group of people resting languorously on a steam yacht off Venice, Italy.the mustachioed man seated left is James Gordon Bennett
Jr., heir to the Newyork Herald, known for his affluence, ambition and selfindulgence. In 1883, after being forced by a scandal to leave New York, Bennett built a 226-foot steam yacht, which he used to travel back and forth across the
Atlantic visiting his newspaper offices in Newyork and Paris. with a crew of 50, he lived aboard the boat for 18 years, usually accompanied by several women and pedigreed dogs. “This is a representation of the quintessential Gilded Age yacht owner, which is different from the average person who enjoys sailing on the sound,” says Culp. Another prominent work is a seascape by John Frederick Kensett painted in 1869, Coast Scene with Figures (Beverly Shore). “That’s a key moment where you see two individuals from this emerging leisure class walking along the beach, and in the background there’s the sailboat and the steamboat sort of foretelling the changes that are going to take place.”
Culp says that in addition to the carefully cultivated and salvaged objects, including materials from noteworthy boats like the Ranger and the Dauntless, a work by French artist victor de Grailly also illustrates the natural transition of watercraft as functional and as a means of entertainment .“it’ s a great story because yachting—yes, it developed on our inland waterways—but long before the formation of these yacht clubs, people who actually worked on the water engaged in friendly racing,” says Culp. “so what you’re seeing on the de Grailly are several coastal flutes ‘racing. ’and that’s in many ways how [the pastime] began, with people who worked on the water and engaged in the friendly sport.”
Sport and Leisure: Sailing on the Sound will be on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art through April 26, 2020.