s The brig 'Wupper' off Spurn Head - Hull Museums Collections

The brig 'Wupper' off Spurn Head

A type written label on the reverse claims that this picture is the last one ever to be executed by Ward, and there is a note to that effect on the back of the canvas signed by Ward's pupil, W. F. Settle (1821-97). This painting is a copy of the Ward painting, The brig 'Wupper' off Spurn Head, c.1842, but with minor differences. The most obvious is the presence of the black ball symbol on the fore topsail. This was probably taken from the ships of the famous Black Ball Line owned by James Baines of Liverpool. He had taken the idea from the American-owned steam packet company of that name which ran a monthly service between New York and Liverpool. The ship in profile sports a pennant with the initial W but a close examination of the quarter view reveals that the initial is S, an anomaly that is difficult to explain. In later years the house flag consisted of a white pennant with a black ball in the centre of a red cross.