Tarring down backstays, HERZOGIN CECILIE
Date1935
Object number00032200
NamePainting
MediumOil on canvas on plywood
DimensionsOverall: 354 × 213 mm
Copyright© Josephine Yeats
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis painting shows a Belgian apprentice onboard HERZOGIN CECILIE tarring a backstay from the mast. Tarring guards against the deterioration of the rigging.HistoryIn 1935 Dennis Adams went to sea on the last windjammers; ships that had been saved from the scrap heap to sail in the grain trade between Europe and Australia in the interwar period.
Adams sailed as a passenger on the HERZOGIN CECILIE to attend art school in London in 1935, returning to Australia in 1938 on LAWHILL. On both voyages he enjoyed the company of the captain, and dined at his table, yet also worked with the crew. He often climbed the rigging with his paint supplies and sketched all aspects of shipboard life.
HERZOGIN CECILIE was a 4-masted barque built in 1902 in Germany and was one of the fastest windjammers in the long trade route. Before and after the First World War it carried up to 4,500 tonnes of grain between Australia and Europe, winning the potentially dangerous 'grain race' eight times. HERZOGIN CECILIE was given to the French as part of the German's reparations scheme, and was subsequently bought by Finnish ship-owner Gustaf Erikson.
HERZOGIN CECILIE did not long survive after Adams' journey; it was grounded off south England in heavy fog in 1936. Part of the cargo was unloaded and vessel refloated only to be beached and destroyed.SignificanceDennis Adams paintings were signficant in capturing the last voyages of the windjammers in Australian and international waters during the 20th century.
