JAMES EDWARD BUTTERSWORTH
New Jersey/New York/United Kingdom, 1817-1894
Schooner yacht Palmer, the start off Staten Island. Circa 1870. Signed lower right "J.E. Buttersworth".
Oil on board, 8" x 12". Framed 12.5" x 16.5".
Provenance:
Private Collection, Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 1999.
Private Collection, New Jersey.

Notes:
James Edward Buttersworth depicted the schooner yacht Palmer, owned by Rutherford Stuyvesant as identified by her house flag, on the two sides of the Atlantic.

In one, Palmer is shown immediately after the start off Staten Island. This dramatic image shows the flare of the starting cannon and the crew on deck, struggling to bring in the mainsail as it fills with wind and the bow cuts through the sea.

In the other, Palmer is depicted off Dover with Dover Castle in the distance. This painting was sold at Eldred's, the Marine Sale, August 19, 2001, Lot #633.

Palmer was an American centerboard schooner, designed by and for Richard Fanning Loper, and modeled after other successful schooners including the America’s Cup defender Magic. Palmer was built in Philadelphia in 1865 by T. Byerly & Sons and named after Nathaniel Palmer, the storied clipper ship captain and a friend of Richard Fanning Loper.

Palmer proved very fast in light winds and was particularly fast downwind. She was a good sea boat, being formidable on the wind and both pointed and footed well. Loper sold Palmer to Rutherfurd Stuyvesant in 1869, and Stuyvesant would race her hard for 31 years, keeping her in top condition and updating her with the latest trends in yachting technology. Stuyvesant sold Palmer in 1900 to F. K. Sturgis.

Richard Fanning Loper (America, 1800-1880) was a successful yacht designer and shipbuilder. He moved to Philadelphia in 1831, where he founded a shipbuilding company that would grow into one of the largest in the country, including building ships for the U.S. Navy.

Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (America, 1843-1909) graduated from Columbia College in 1863. He was a sportsman and yachtsman, and a member of the New York Yacht Club, the Atlantic Yacht Club, and the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. He was also a member of the Downtown Association, the Columbia College Alumni Association, the New York Historical Society and the American Geographical Society. He was a fellow at the American Museum of Natural History and the National Academy of Design, and a patron, trustee, and second vice president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Minor restoration.