James Edward Buttersworth (1817–1894) was an English painter who specialized in

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and is considered among the foremost ship portraitists in the

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of the nineteenth century. His paintings are particularly known for their meticulous detail, dramatic settings, and grace in movement.

Early life and education

Buttersworth was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1817 to a family of maritime artists. He studied painting with his father Thomas Buttersworth Jr., who was also noted for the genre.

Career

He moved to the United States around 1845 and settled in

West Hoboken, New Jersey West Hoboken was a municipality that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, from 1861 to 1925. It merged with Union Hill to form Union City on June 1, 1925. The town is notable for being the first city in which Mallomars were sold.Barron, Jam ...

(now

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

studio in 1854. He returned to

in 1851 for the Race for the Hundred Pound Cup that took place on 22 August 1851. His sketches and paintings of that yachting competition provide the definitive record of events in that benchmark season of sailing. Buttersworth’s paintings of the 1893 Vigilant ''v.''

Valkyrie II ''Valkyrie II'', officially named ''Valkyrie'', was a British racing yacht that was the unsuccessful challenger of the 1893 America's Cup race against American defender ''Vigilant''. Design ''Valkyrie II'' was a gaff-rigged cutter. She was d ...

Cup match were done one year before his death, completing the chronicling of America's Cup races by oil painting just before the advent of successful

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

imagery. He was inducted into the

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...

in 1999. About 600 of his pieces survive today, which are found in private collections and museums all over the United States, including New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and have also been featured on the

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Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

''.''

The Union City Reporter ''The Hudson Reporter'' is a newspaper chain based in Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Hudson Reporter'' publications mainly focus on local politics and community news. The oldest newspaper in the chain is the ''Hoboken Reporter'', founded in 1983. ...

''; January 2006

Gallery

File:Magic and Gracie off Castle Garden.jpg, ''Magic and Gracie off Castle Garden'' (c. 1871), in the collection at The

Mariners' Museum The Mariners' Museum and Park is located in Newport News, Virginia, United States. Designated as America’s ''National Maritime Museum'' by Congress, it is one of the largest maritime museums in North America. The Mariners' Museum Library, cont ...

File:Steamboat escort off the battery.jpg, ''Steamboat Escort off the battery'' (1863) in the collection at The

File:Frigate off dover James Buttersworth.jpg, ''Frigate off Dover'' (c. 1840) in the collection at The

File:'Clipper Ship Great Republic' by James Butterworth, c. 1853 - Old State House Museum, Boston, MA - IMG 6709.JPG, ''Clipper Ship Great Republic'' (c. 1853) Old State House Museum, Boston, MA File:Hibernia (Cunard).jpg, ''RMS Hibernia'' (c. 1850s) File:James E. Buttersworth - American Steam-Sail Yacht EMILY at Sea with Four Schooners Off Bow.jpg, ''American Steam-Sail Yacht EMILY at Sea with Four Schooners Off Bow'' (c. 1878) File:James E. Buttersworth - Clipper Ship at Cape Horn.jpg, ''Clipper Ship at Cape Horn'' File:James E. Buttersworth - First Rater and Other Shipping Off the Spanish Coast.jpg, ''First Rater and Other Shipping off the Spanish Coast'' File:James E. Buttersworth - Great Republic.jpg, ''Great Republic'' (c. 1850s) Old State House Museum, Boston, MA File:James E. Buttersworth - Painting of the fullrigger „United States“.jpg, ''United States'' File:Ocean telegraph.jpg, ''The clipper ship Ocean Telegraph'' (1858) South Street Seaport Museum File:The Steam and Sail Ship Western Metropolis, an oil painting by James E. Butterworth.png, ''The Steam and Sail Ship'' File:Early Screw Steamer Star of the South in Heavy Seas by James E. Buttersworth.jpg, American Steam-sail ship '''American Steam-sail ship'' , ''passing an American full rigged ship at sea''

Notes

References

* "Ship, Sea and Sky: The Marine Art of James Edward Buttersworth." ''

American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...

'', July–August 1994 v45 n4 p104 (1)

External links

A Guide to James E. Butterworth’s ArtGallery of James. E. Buttersworth artThe Mariners' Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttersworth, James E. 1817 births 1894 deaths Painters from London 19th-century English painters English male painters Artists from New Jersey British marine artists People from Union City, New Jersey 19th-century English male artists