USS MISSISSIPPI

Artist John Allcot (Australian, 1888 - 1973)

Date1925

Object number00016830

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas, wood

DimensionsOverall: 420 x 575 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Collections

Ship portraits

Terms

DescriptionOil painting by John Allcot depicting the American battleship USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) on Sydney Harbour, as it sails past Clarke Island and Rushcutters Bay. The ship formed part of an American fleet that visited Australia on a good will tour in 1925. Alcott has painted the harbour in an impressionist style, using the colours of pale blue and mauve to depict the ship at dusk. HistoryThe USS MISSISSIPPI and six other ships formed the fleet that visited Australia on a good will tour in July 1925. The purpose of the visit was to follow the example of the highly successful Great White Fleet tour in 1908 and display peacetime cooperation between America and Australia. The fleet received an enthusiastic welcome in Sydney Harbour and a number of social activities and functions were organised in their honour. USS MISSISSIPPI was built in Virginia in 1917 and was an early class of US battleship that carried twenty-two five inch guns. After its launch in 1917 the ship was posted to the West Atlantic, Pacific and Caribbean waters where it performed routine exercises and training operations. USS MISSISSIPPI served in the U.S Navy for almost forty years and played an active role in operations during World War II, taking part in the conflict at Kiska Island, the Gilbert Islands, Kwajalein, Peleliu, Leyte, Lingayen and Okinawa. It suffered extensive damage at Okinawa from Japanese kamikaze pilots. After the war, MISSISSIPPI was used for training exercises and the development of weapons, such as being the testing ship for the surface-to-air guided missile, Terrier. In 1946 it was assigned a new hull number AG-128 and eventually sold for scrap metal in 1956 after being decommissioned. SignificanceThis tranquil depiction of the USS MISSISSIPPI is represntative of the peacetime cooperation between Australia and America in 1925.