Sailmakers LAWHILL
Artist
Dennis Adams
(1914-2001)
Date1938
Object number00032214
NamePainting
MediumOil on canvas on plywood
DimensionsOverall: 308 × 376 mm
Copyright© Josephine Yeats
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA painting by Dennis Adams titled 'Sailmakers LAWHILL 1938' and depicts two men working on a sail on the ship's deck.HistoryLAWHILL was built by W. B. Thompson in Dundee, Scotland, and launched on 24 August 1892. Originally ordered by Charles Barrie for the jute trade, it soon changed to other cargoes which were more profitable, such as lamp oil to China. In 1914, LAWHILL was sold to Finnish owner August Troberg and began carrying wheat from Australia, a trade run that it would continue for twenty years.
In 1942 the LAWHILL, being Finnish owned, was confiscated by the South African government as a consequence of the war. Used as a cargo carrier for the South African Railways and Harbour Administration, the vessel resumed commercial trade in 1946. But in 1948 after 56 years of continuous and arduous sailing, LAWHILL was deemed too expensive to be repaired and laid up in Mozambique. It was broken up in the 1950's for scrap but considered by many as one of the most successful, possibly the most successful, of all four-masted barques.
SignificanceDennis Adams paintings were signficant in capturing the last voyages of the windjammers in Australian and international waters during the 20th century.
