Clement Drew (American, 1806-1889)

Signed, dated and titled on the reverse:

Oil on canvas

14″ x 17″  framed

Original stretcher retains period label from Frost & Adams

an artist supply firm in Boston, MA

Clement Drew grew up in Kingston, Massachusetts, a coastal New England town. Early on he settled into a career as a marine painter. He augmented his income by working in a number of jobs including dry goods, a library and even operating an artist supply shop. Drew was also an active abolitionist.

In his paintings, Drew recorded the comings and goings of schooners and square riggers in and out the New England harbors along Massachusetts’s South Shore, Boston, Maine and even as far north as Newfoundland between 1838 and 1886. He must have sailed from New England to San Franciso via Cape Horn as there is record of him in South America and San Francisco.  Two Yachts with a Steamer in the Distance by Drew is probably a scene off of the Massachusetts coast.