ARTIST: Chris Calle (American, born 1961)
NAME: David Farragut
YEAR: 1995
MEDIUM: mixed media on board
CONDITION: Excellent.
SIGHT SIZE: 15 x 12 inches / 38 x 30 cm
BOARD SIZE: 23 x 18 inches / 58 x 45 cm
SIGNATURE: lower right
NOTE: This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the 32 David Farragut Classic Collection Series stamp issued June 29, 1995. Son of a Spanish sea captain, adopted at age eight by a U.S. naval officer, battling the British aboard the frigate Essex at age 12, David Glasgow Farragut would later fight pirates in the West Indies and take part in the war with Mexico. A resident of Norfolk, Virginia, Farragut moved his family north the same day Virginia seceded from the Union. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Union strategy was to isolate the Confederacy by blockade and by seizing the Mississippi River. Farragut was selected to head the Southern expedition to capture New Orleans by naval attack. In April of 1862, after a furious battle against Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi, New Orleans surrendered. Farragut became the first man in the U.S. Navy to be promoted to rear admiral. He soon won the nickname of "Old Salamander" by running his ships repeatedly under heavy gunfire. On August 5, 1864, during the Battle of Mobile Bay, Farragut set out to capture the Confederate ironclad Tennessee with four ironclad monitors and 14 wooden ships. When one Union ship was sunk by a submerged torpedo, the others stopped in alarm. A monumental pile-up might have resulted, but Farragut, in the Hartford, made one of his famous quick decisions. "Damn the torpedoes," he shouted, "Full speed ahead!" The Hartford then maneuvered through the minefield without incident. After a violent engagement, the Tennessee was forced to surrender. Congress later created the ranks of vice admiral, and then admiral, for Farragut.
PROVENANCE: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online
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BIOGRAPHY:
The son of artist Paul Calle, Chris Calle studied painting and illustration at the University of Michigan School of Art and has become known both for his paintings and postage stamp designs.