Attr. William Pierce Stubbs (1842-1909)
Lived/Active: Maine, Massachusetts

Three Masted Schooner Edward R. Bennet, Unsigned, S. N. Dodge stamp verso
Oil on canvas, ca. 1861. 26” x 36”, 30 1/4” x 40” (frame). Over-all in fine condition. Recently cleaned.
This Ship portrait of the Edward R. Bennet is attributed to William Pierce Stubbs as a rare early example of his work, dating from his formative years, around the outbreak of the Civil War. This date is corroborated by the canvas retailer’s stamp verso. Dodge is listed in the New York City directory as a dealer in paints and colors at the noted address between 1826 and 1865. Further assisting in dating the work is the artist’s depiction of two rare 21 star Southern Exclusionary “Great Star” flags flying from the ship’s stern. These early Civil War era Union flags were used briefly in 1861 by Union loyalists.
The Absence of a signature is not uncommon for Stubbs and many of his known works are unsigned. Born in coastal Maine to a sea captain and shipmaster father, Stubbs became the master of his father’s ship in 1863, a post he held for ten years. He was self-taught as an artist, and was believed to have painted his first ship portrait by 1871. This painting precedes that date by ten years, before the time when he was thought to have served as a shipmaster.  By 1876 he was listed as a marine painter in the Boston city directory. He shared a studio with marine painter Wesley Webber and had studios variously in Boston, East Boston, and Charlestown. His paintings are held in the collections of numerous museums, including the Peabody Essex Museum, New York Historical Society, Butler Institute of American Art, The Mariner’s Museum, Mystic Seaport Museum, Provincetown Museum, Beverly Historical Society, Philadelphia Marine Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution.