Joseph & Elizabeth Jane Gee
#SUBHEADING#Hull Ship Owner#SUBHEADINGEND# This elegant and colourful pair of Victorian portraits by the artist Thomas Ellerby (flourished 1821-1857) are of exceptional significance to the City of Hull. They depict the important 19th century Hull ship owner Joseph Gee and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Gee. Joseph's portrait is signed and dated lower left 'T.Ellerby/Pinxit 1841', telling us that Ellerby painted it in 1841. It is almost certain that the portraits were conceived as a pair and is therefore likely that Elizabeth's was painted at around the same time. This is supported by the style of costume she wears. Elizabeth was the sister-in-law of the marine artist Robert Ernest Row. She is actually a somewhat mysterious character, and is barely mentioned in surviving documents. #SUBHEADING#Who was Joseph Gee?#SUBHEADINGEND# #IMAGE# The descendant of a family of local gentry Joseph Gee, in partnership, on his own account and as manager, was Hull's dominant ship owner in sail and steam during the period c. 1830-1860. Many of his vessels were depicted by local marine artists, notably John Ward of Hull's (1798-1849) oils, The Return of the 'William Lee' (Ward's acknowledged masterpiece) and 'Chase' and 'Dagger' (both in the Ferens). Others include William Griffin's oils 'P.S. Rob Roy', 'Emperor, Queen of Scotland', and 'P.S. Helen McGregor' (all in the Hull Maritime Museum collection). Gee was born in the East Riding of Yorkshire into a family with substantial holdings of land in the county. He resided at Cottingham House, Yorkshire. #SUBHEADING#Yachting#SUBHEADINGEND# Vice Commodore of the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, Gee was elected in 1849 to the Royal Yacht Squadron. Between 1850 and 1857 he had a series of cutter (racing) yachts. The first was the renowned 'Corsair', built in 1825 and a famous racer. There is a print in the Hull Maritime Museum collection of his yacht 'Gloriana' competing for the King's Vase of the RYS in 1853. Another of his yachts, 'The Whim', appears on the lithographs of the finish of the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club's first Grand Regatta by John Ward (Hull Maritime Museum). In Ellerby's portrait Gee wears his yachting garb, and is posed with a cutter yacht in the background. Gee founded the Hull Mariners' Church and Sailor's Orphanage Society (later the Hull Seaman's and General Orphan Society). The Hull Maritime Museum has a copy of Ellerby's portrait that Gee presented to the Sailors' Orphanage. This is inscribed with his name and a dedication on the frame. However, the copy is a fairly crude effort, by an unknown 'jobbing' local artist. Joseph Gee's exact birth date is unknown, but he died aged 58 at Lowestoft, while on business, on 5th October 1860. Stylistically and compositionally, the portraits owe a debt to 18th century masters like Reynolds (1723-92) and Gainsborough (1727-88), with a three-quarter length figure posed in front of a thematic or foliage background. They are typical of the type of portraits commissioned by wealthy provincial Victorian families to represent their social standing. Gee is depicted with a maritime background and holding a telescope, symbolising his business and personal interests. Elizabeth Jane is shown in a decorative pose, holding flowers against what is probably an invented landscape.
