Montague Dawson, FRSA RSMA, 
British 1890-1973- 
The Argonaut; 
oil on canvas backed with panel,...

Montague Dawson, FRSA RSMA, 
British 1890-1973- 

The Argonaut; 

oil on canvas backed with panel, bears label for W.B. Simpson inscribed '"The Argonaut" / framed painting / by / Montague Dawson' on the backing board, 61 x 91.8 cm. ARR. 

Provenance: 
with W. B. Simpson, Glasgow [no.A5024]. 
Anon. sale, Christie's, London, 10 November 1994, lot 592 (£24,200). 
A distinguished family collection. 

Note: 
In the opinion of Basil Lubbock - the noted authority on 19th century commercial sail - there were approximately sixty British registered clippers working the China trade in 1870 and of these, about a dozen - including such renowned flyers such as 'Ariel', 'Taeping' and 'Thermopylae' - were considered thoroughbred racers capable of regular 100 day passages. 'Argonaut' was not in this exalted league but nevertheless Lubbock placed her high amongst his 'second rank' of steady-going ships which, whilst no record breakers, still turned in consistently fast passages and achieved solid reputations for reliability. Especially fast when offered a quartering wind, Captain Andrew Shewan (author of the 'Great Days of Sail', 1927) described 'Argonaut' as a 'galloper' and what she lacked in ability to deal with headwinds was, in her early years at least, more than compensated for by the daring of her first master Captain 'Sandy' Nicholson. 

'Argonaut' was a composite clipper built at Rotherhithe in 1866 by Thomas Bilbe & Co. for the company's own use. One of the larger clippers employed in the tea trade, she was registered at 1,073 net tons and measured 206.4 feet in length with a 33.2 foot beam. On her maiden voyage she left Foochow with her first cargo of tea on 10 July 1867 and docked in London on 29 October, only 111 days out; this run equaled that year's passage time of the renowned 'Fiery Cross' and was only 8 days longer than that of the legendary 'Ariel'. The next year she returned home in 113 days - Shanghai to London - followed by an even better time of 109 days in 1869. By then she had made a name for herself as a pirate chaser after an amusing incident in the river at Shanghai in 1868 when her signal cannon blew a large hole in the sail of a Chinese warjunk which ran alongside her just as 'Argonaut' was saluting the departing 'Leander'. Although entirely accidental, word soon got around the pirate fraternity that 'Argonaut' was a force to be reckoned with. 
Nicholson continued to bring her home in excellent times during the early 1870s and in 1872 took a huge gamble by sailing her through the dangerous and largely unsurveyed Paracels one moonlit night in order to gain a few days on his rivals. In 1873, Nicholson loaded 1,465,000 cases of tea and cleared Foochow on 9 August. So anxious was he to run with the westerly monsoon for the maximum time possible that he kept his course too long and ran aground on the Pescadores. Although Argonaut was not seriously damaged, Nicholson was forced to jettison 3000 cases of tea weighing 300 tons before he could refloat her but still got her home in 111 days. Possibly as a result of this incident Nicholson was replaced by Captain Cameron in 1874 and he, having taken 'Argonaut' out to China in the summer, brought her back in rather slow passage time of 128 days. Cameron's first voyage proved to be 'Argonaut's' last in the tea trade which by now had been lost to steam. Her owners therefore put her onto the Australian run - her best passage time being the Lizard to Melbourne in 77 days - where she remained until sold to Anderson's of London in 1877. They in turn sold her to Jacob Brothers of London in 1883 and in 1888, whilst bound for Hamburg from Western Australia, she sprang a leak, put into Port Natal for repairs and was condemned and never returned to sea. 

Montague Dawson was the grandson of the marine painter Henry Dawson (1811-1878), and is celebrated for his detailed and accurate depictions of historical vessels, particularly clippers and warships of the 18th and 19th centuries. Dawson encountered the maritime artist Charles Napier Hemy (1841-1917), who was a significant artistic influence on the former, whilst serving with the Navy during the First World War, an experience which also undoubtedly informed his depictions of naval battles. 

Dawson exhibited widely over the course of his career, including at the Royal Academy between 1917 and 1936, and at the Royal Society of Marine Artists, of which he was a member, between 1946 and 1964. He also enjoyed the patronage of a number of prominent contemporaries, including American presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), and members of the British royal family. His works can be found in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.