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JAMES BARD (AMERICAN 1815-1897). CORNELIUS VANDERBILT'S STEAM YACHT "NORTH STAR," 1852. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was one of the earliest and most successful entrepreneurs in American history. Beginning as a small operator of ferry services around Staten Island at the age of sixteen, Vanderbilt steadily built an empire. In 1829 he began providing steam passenger and freight service up and down the Hudson River and by the 1840's, Vanderbilt's fleet numbered 100 steamships. Later he began to acquire railroads, capitalizing on the nation's expansion westward, but the steamboat seemed to hold a special fascination for him. Known as 'The Commodore,' Vanderbilt became an early patron of James Bard's, commissioning the artist to paint a number of his fleet. In 1852, Vanderbilt had Bard paint the "North Star," a 252-foot luxury steam yacht built expressly for the Vanderbilt family's first Grand Tour of Europe. The yacht, the largest of its kind at the time, hosted royalty and dignataries at each port of call and was commemorated in a published account of the famous voyage. Years later, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, Commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1906-08, named his flagship the "North Star" in honor of his great-grandfather's yacht.Oil on canvas, 43 x 65 inches. Inscribed "Built by Jeremiah Linemonston NY, by the Order and Direction of Cornelius Vanderbilt" l.l. Signed and dated "Picture Drawn & Painted by James Bard, 686 Washington St. 1852" l.r. Accompanied by a copy of "The Cruise of the Steam Yacht North Star, A Narrative of the Excursion of Mr. Vanderbilt's Party to England, Russia, Denmark, France..." by Rev. John Overton Choules, Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 1854.
Literature: Illustrated in The Mariner's Museum and Anthony J. Peluso, Jr. "The Bard Brothers, Painting America Under Steam and Sail," pp. 38-39. See also p. 35 for an illustration of the John and James Bard painting of the steamboat "Cornelius Vanderbilt," in the collection of the Shelburne Museum, Vermont.
Est. $100,000-$150,000