TSS MAIANBAR

Artist Alfred William Dufty (1858 - 1924)

Date1910 - 1940

Object number00000047

NamePainting

MediumOil on board

DimensionsOverall: 450 x 590 mm
Display Dimensions: 450 x 894 mm, 2 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis painting depicts the twin screw steamer MAIANBAR, built in 1910 and owned by the north coast steam navigation company. The MAIANBAR was wrecked in the entrance of Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, in 1940. The painting is signed by A Dufty but is believed to be by another hand, quite possibly George Frederick Gregory junior (1857-1913).HistoryLate nineteenth-early twentieth century photographic studios, in particular Dufty's, were renowned for tampering with paintings in reproducing them for a mass market. Artists were often employed to finish paintings from other artists sketches. Numerous paintings from this period had multiple artists working on them. Dufty often countersigned the opposite corner to an artists signature in order to have have his studio appear in photographic reproductions of paintings. This painting is attributed to George Frederick Gregory junior who worked with Dufty. Several of Gregory's paintings from this time were overpainted or countersigned afterwards by other studio artists. The TSS MAIANBAR was built by Ardrossan Dry Dock & Shipping Co Ltd in Scotland in 1910. The 493 tonne steamship was operated by the North Coast Steam Navigation Company and built to replace the SS MINIMBAH, a steamer that broke in half trying to cross the Manning River Bar in 1910. MINIMBAH's engine and boiler were used in the construction of MAIANBAR. In 1920, TSS MAIANBAR was beached at the entrance to the Macleay River and it took a month to refloat the ship. A major overhaul of the ship followed and it was lengthened. However in 1940, MAIANBAR again ran aground, this time on Nobbys Beach, Newcastle, New South Wales, not far from the site of the MV PASHA BULKER grounding in 2007. TSS MAIANBAR was under tow from Port Stephens to Sydney when the towline broke. The ship was unable to be refloated and the ship was broken up on site.SignificanceThis painting is an excellent example of late 19th and early 20th century Australian ship portraiture.