Antonio Jacobsen (Danish/American, 1850-1921)

Antonio Nicolo Gaspara Jacobsen, foremost chronicler of American shipping in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, painted ships as they passed in and out of New York Harbor and out of the age of sail into the age of steam. Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1850, but came to New York City in 1871 to avoid being drafted into the Franco-Prussian War. Like many immigrants he spent his days in Battery Park looking for work, and would pause to sketch the ships in the harbor. From 1871 to 1880 he worked decorating the doors to safes for Marvin Safe Company. In 1880 he moved to West Hoboken, New Jersey, where he produced most of his work. Jacobsen began to receive commissions from ship owners and captains, and eventually steamship companies. The Old Dominion, Fall River, and White Star Steamship Lines, among others, commissioned him to create portraits of all the vessels in their fleets. Thus, Jacobsen quickly became one of America’s premier marine artists. With the help of his children, Jacobsen painted over 6,000 ships that came into New York City Harbor between 1894 and 1919. Jacobsen died in West Hoboken in 1921.

Allianca

by Antonio Jacobsen (Danish/American, 1850-1921)

Medium	Oil
Medium Detail	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	18 x 30 inches
Signed Location	Lower right
Date Created	1902
Comments	Signed, dated, and inscribed lower right: “A. Jacobsen 1902 / 31 Palisade Av. West Hoboken, NJ” S.S. ALLIANCA (1886) Steel-hulled steamship, 3,905 gross tons Length 335 ft · Beam 42 ft · Draft 18.2 ft Built in 1886 for the Brazil Line, the Allianca later entered service with the Colombian Line—renamed the Panama Railroad Steamship Line in 1893—operating between Colón and New York. On August 6, 1914, while en route from New York, she became the first commercial ocean-going vessel to pass through the Panama Canal, entering the Pedro Miguel Locks during trial operations just days before the canal’s official opening. The loaded Allianca displaced approximately 9,000 tons and completed the passage in one hour and thirty-one minutes. Dynamometer tests recorded towing forces of up to 35,000 pounds as she advanced into Gatun Lake.