Below Deck - SS NEW ORLEANS

Artist Thomas Flintoff (1809 - 1891)

Datelate 19th century

Object number00028900

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour paints on paper

DimensionsOverall: 254 x 355 mm, 0.05 kg

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionThis painting depicts the headroom below deck of the steam ship NEW ORLEANS. Partitioned cabins are numbered along the side of the room, with clothes draped around and storage trunks on the ground. In the background men sitting at a crowded table eating and drinking.HistoryThomas Flintoff was born in England in 1809. He travelled to the United States in 1851 where he established a flourishing art practice in Texas. In 1852 he and a son went to the California goldfields and a year later left San Francisco for Victoria. This voyage has formed the basis of several of Flintoff's works and is most probably when this work was conceived. Flintoff set up a gallery in Ballarat where he continued to work until 1872 when he moved to Melbourne.SignificanceThis painting provides insight into the conditions of passenger travel aboard steam ships in the late 19th century.