FITZ HENRY LANE

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Catalog entry

inv. 239

St. Johns, Porto Rico

San Juan, Porto Rico; St, John's, Porto Rico; St. John's Porte
Rico

c. 1850
Oil on canvas
23 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (60.3 x 92.1 cm)
No inscription found

The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Va. (1947.0790.000001 /

QO 0718)

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Photo: The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA
Commentary

Mid-nineteenth century Porto Rico (as then spelled) was a rich source of sugar and its
derivative products for North America and Europe. Cane sugar, molasses, and rum made up
the bulk of cargos loaded by American merchant vessels. Those vessels, particularly from
New England ports, brought to the island huge quantities of dried codfish for the sugar
plantations to feed their slaves. This trade was the foundation of Sidney Mason’s wealth and
civic prominence in his native Gloucester and led to his post as American Consul in Puerto
Rico from 1829 to 1835. It led as well to marriage and business, and a second home in New
York City. (Refs. 1–3)
In 1850, Lane traveled to New York where he drew and painted views of the harbor and vessel
activity, two of which were possibly painted for Mason, who may also have engaged him to
paint a view of San Juan at that time. Travel to the West Indies by steamship from New York
would have been the most expeditious means to get there, and a stop at Baltimore (either
outbound or returning) would have made the voyage all the more productive. The discovery by
Melissa Trafton, of a print by Augustus de Vaudricourt with a nearly identical composition, also
has introduced the possiblity that Lane did not make the trip, but was copying the lithograph.
Lane’s view of San Juan exhibits his usual deft eye for detail in buildings as well a ships. There
are three – possibly more – examples of Bermuda-rigged sloops in this scene – a variant of
the sloop rig unseen in New England until the twentieth century. The presence of a French
frigate reflects that nation’s interests in the Caribbean – an area of major importance to several
European nations. (Ref. 4)
The foreground may reflect the interests of many nations in Caribbean forest products, but not
(in this period) those of Puerto Rico. Long described as two boats salvaging mahogany logs
cut from that island’s forests, this activity must be reconsidered. Contemporary reports indicate
that there was no logging of mahogany in Puerto Rico for export, though it may have been
imported for ornamental trees or as finished furniture. If mahogany was once native to the
island, it was either logged out or was to be found in forests inaccessible due to surrounding
marshlands and an absence of canals to transport the timber. (Refs. 5, 6, 7)
In any case, the logs depicted are too small for marketable mahogany, the trees most suitable
for harvest being 100 feet and more in height and upwards of 40 feet in girth above the roots.
More likely, the logs depicted are mast timber – probably pine or spruce from North America –
which were part of a ship’s deck load, got loose in a storm, and went adrift. That they are
floating so high in the water rules out any of the dense tropical hardwoods used for wharf
timbers and other woodwork requiring resistance to rot and wear. (Refs. 8, 9)
–Erik Ronnberg
References:

1. Edmund Flagg, Superintendent, “Report on the Commercial Relations of the United States with all
Foreign Nations,” Vol. 1 (Washington, DC: Cornelius Wendell, Printer, 1856), pp. 207–216.

2. “Commerce and Navigation. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, 1850” (Washington, DC: Gideon
and Co., Printers, 1851), pp. 124, 125 (fish), 218, 219 (distilled spirits), 220, 221 (molasses), 226, 227

Provenance (Information known to date; research ongoing.)

The Old Print Shop, New York, 1947?
The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Va., 1947

Exhibition History
1966 DeCordova Museum: DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts, Fitz Hugh Lane:
 The First Major Exhibition, no. 21.
1975 Chrysler Museum: Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, Art of the Sea.

Published References
McCormick 1952: "Fitz Hugh Lane, Gloucester Artist, 1804–1865," p. 294. includes text
Wilmerding 1963: "The Lithographs of Fitz Hugh Lane," p. 37.
Wilmerding 1964: Fitz Hugh Lane, 1804–1865: American Marine Painter, fig. 3.
American Neptune 1965: The American Neptune, Pictorial Supplement VII: A Selection of
Marine Paintings by Fitz Hugh Lane, 1804–1865, plate XVI, no. 86. includes text
Wilmerding 1966a: Fitz Hugh Lane: The First Major Exhibition, no. 21. includes text
Wilmerding 1971a: Fitz Hugh Lane, p. 32.
Wilmerding 2005: Fitz Henry Lane, ill. 32, text, p. 42, St, John's, Porto Rico.
Craig 2006a: Fitz H. Lane: An Artist's Voyage through Nineteenth-Century America, fig. 49.
Craig 2006b: "Fitz Henry Lane: An Affinity for the Sea," ill., p. 30, text p. 29, San Juan, Porto
Rico.
Slifkin 2013: "Fitz Henry Lane and the Compromised Landscape, 1848–1865," fig. 4, p. 71,
text, p. 70. includes text

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Related historical materials

Bermudian sloop
Bermudian sloop in St. Georges Harbor, Bermuda
Puerto-Rico

Report on the Commercial Relations of the US with all Foreign Nations

Other Locales

Puerto Rico

Vessel Types

Naval / Government Vessel

Ship (Full-Rigged)

Flags, Lighthouses, & Navigation Aids

American ensign / flag

Signal Systems (Flags & Maritime Codes)

Maritime & Other Industries & Facilities

Lumber Industry

People

Mason, Sidney
Citation: "St. Johns, Porto Rico, c. 1850 (inv. 239)." Fitz Henry Lane Online. Cape Ann Museum. http://fitzhenrylaneonline.org/catalog/entry.php?id=239 (accessed May 26,
2020).

Record last updated March 6, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.

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