" out of the tempest " aftermath of " the night of the big wind " by henry frost .
Because Frost frequently painted ships connected to the Irish Sea, Liverpool, and the Isle of Man, the oil on canvas painting is highly likely a powerful retrospective scene commemorating ireland and liverpools most catastrophic maritime disaster, " the night of the big wind " 6-8 january 1839, a storm now recorded as one of the most devastating in europe, with the loss of 42 ships, 12-20 being lost in the liverpool vicinity alone.
signed h.frost 57 lower left.
oil on canvas
framed .
canvas size ... 53cmx36cm
frame size ... 69cm x52cm.
research suggests henry frost ( active 1850's-1870's ) was a 19th-century British liverpool based marine artist who specialised in ship portraits and maritime scenes. A 1873 Masonic record from the United Grand Lodge of England lists a "Henry Frost, artist" living at 5,Gill Street, Liverpool.
in the painting henry frost masterfully balances the terrifying power of the churning Irish Sea against a narrative of impending salvation. henry frost had a true understanding of ships and how they were handled during the mid 19th century, this is demonstrated in the paintings narrative and how he executes the detail of the ships with the precise skill of a miniaturist. the painting depicts a dismasted sailing ship battered by a storm flying an inverted red ensign " jack down " from the splintered remains of the foremast, with another 3 masted ship in the distance possibly coming to its rescue. at the time of the painting, flying a flag upside down was the universal maritime signal for extreme distress. The Red Ensign indicates that the dismasted ship was a British merchant or commercial vessel. The ship approaching with only its foresail up shows proper heavy-weather seamanship. In a violent storm, running under a lone foresail (or fore-course) allowed the captain to maintain directional steerage and control the ship's speed so as not to collide with the wrecked vessel or other obstacle.
During the 19th century, ship captains, owners, or surviving crew members frequently commissioned marine artists like Frost to document specific near-disaster or rescue events they lived through.
the following description of the storm events, is an extract from tales of the mersey post, from wallasey days gone by.
"In the days before weather forecasts, the city of Liverpool was completely unprepared in January 1839 for a storm that had already caused extensive damage across Ireland and the Irish Sea. For two days Liverpool was battered by a fierce storm with the local newspapers featuring hundreds of eyewitness accounts of the terrible winds and wild seas. These accounts confirm it was a hurricane, as they describe a sudden change of wind direction after a period of calm known as 'the eye of the storm'.in the days before the hurricane, the winds had kept many ships in port because it was blowing in the wrong direction. A change of wind on Sunday 6 January meant that more than 50 vessels left Liverpool and its surrounding ports, keen to make-up for lost time. Many of these vessels, having lost their sails and masts, then turned round to find a safe harbour as the weather deteriorated.
One of the first victims of the hurricane was the 'North West Lightship', which broke from its moorings in Liverpool Bay. It could not be replaced because of the bad conditions, and this was to have serious consequences. Ships caught in the storm included the 'Brighton', the 'St Andrew', the 'Pennsylvania' and the 'Lockwood' as they tried to reach the safety of the port but were blown onto the sandbanks outside Liverpool. Having struck the sandbanks the ships quickly began to break up as a result of the constant battering by the wind and the waves. Those on board were faced with either trying to make it ashore or to wait for rescue. Some of the crew of the 'Brighton', which was nearing the end of its voyage from Bombay in India, escaped onto a raft but were never seen again. A boat was launched from the American clipper 'Pennsylvania' to get help, and was just 90 yards from the shore when it was overturned.
The severe conditions that had driven ships onto the River Mersey sandbanks also stopped the much smaller lifeboats from helping them. The Magazines lifeboat from Wallasey on the Wirral tried to reach the deck of the 'St Andrew' but could only do so on the following morning when it rescued eight people and transferred them onto the waiting steamer 'Liverpool'. The 'Victoria', the Steam Tug Company's best steamboat was sent out to help the passengers onboard the ships that had run aground. The tug went to help the 'Pennsylvania' but was beaten back by the storm. Mr Eccles, the Captain of the 'Victoria' was able to sail alongside the 'Lockwood' allowing more than 20 people to jump to safety before the conditions threatened to ground the 'Victoria' as well. The following day when it returned the 'Victoria' was able to rescue more survivors, although 50 people had died during the night. A further 50 people were helped by the lifeboats from the Magazines and Hoylake."
