''Bermuda No. 2, The Schooner'' is an early 20th century drawing by American artist
Charles Demuth. Done in watercolor and graphite on paper, the work depicts the ship Danish ship ''Elsa''. The drawing is in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
Description
History
During the fall of 1916, Charles Demuth visited the island of
Bermuda
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, staying until the spring of 1917.
An artist who was greatly influenced by the
Cubist and
Futurist schools, Demuth spent much of his time on Bermuda painting and drawing; the drawings he rendered during this time period are considered to be his Bermuda series of works.
These drawings—many of which were landscapes—are considered to be part of Demuth's artistic legacy.
While on Bermuda, Demuth possibly was met and influenced by American modernist painter
Marsden Hartley, who was also wintering on Bermuda at the time.
It is posited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's profile of ''Schooner'' that Demuth's work may have been influenced by French artist
Albert Gleizes, another notable artist who was on Bermuda at the same time as Demuth.
The drawing itself depicts a sailing ship, the Danish-flagged ''Elsa''.
Some sources describe the ship as a three-masted schooner,
while others note that ''Elsa'' was a two-masted bark;
art curator
Magdalena Dabrowski notes that the description of the ''Elsa'' as a schooner stems from a 1944 art exhibition at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
, and that this description has led to Demuth's work being given the incorrect ''Schooner'' title.
The ''Elsa'' was docked in
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
for repairs during the winter of 1916-1917 and during this time was featured in the art of both Demuth and Hartley,
the later of whom painted three works (one titled ''Elsa'') with the ship as his subject.
Demuth's work later came into the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Drawing
The drawing itself heavily features Demuth's Cubo-Futurist proclivities; the work is defined by multiple intersecting lines and planes, while the level form of ''Elsa''
's hull is contrasted against the triangular shape of her sails. The Danish flag (a white cross on a red field) can be seen on the hull of the ship.
Notes
References
{{Charles Demuth
Ships in art
1917 drawings
Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1916 drawings
Watercolor paintings
Drawings by Charles Demuth