Watercolour & Gouache Portrait: The S.s. Greyhound (H84), 1911 by Alexander Harwood

Alexander Harwood (British, 1873–1943) | The S.S. Greyhound (H84), 1911

An interesting piece of Edwardian British maritime folk art by the celebrated pier-head painter Alexander Harwood (1873–1943). Painted in 1911, this watercolour and gouache portrait depicts the steam trawler S.S. Greyhound (H84) navigating a dramatic, churned North Sea swell. The vessel was originally built in 1889 by the celebrated Hull shipbuilders Cook, Welton & Gemmell for the Humber Steam Trawling Company.

Born in Scarborough and a celebrated British "Pierhead Painter", Harwood spent his life working directly alongside the fishing fleets as a fish porter. This firsthand, gritty familiarity with the vessels manifests in the draftsman-like precision of the Greyhound’s rigging, hull registration, and the thick charcoal smoke billowing from her funnel. Today, Harwood’s culturally significant documentations of Great Britain's industrial fishing golden age are highly sought after, with several of his ship portraits preserved in the permanent collection of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.

While this 1911 painting brilliantly captures the Greyhound in her proud Humber Steam Trawling livery, it serves as a poignant time-capsule of a ship on the brink of an extraordinary wartime destiny. To protect the asset from early North Sea hostilities, the ship was sold to Sweden in 1914, where she operated under the name Sjöbjörn ("The Sea Bear"). By 1916, her rugged, 1889 Hull-built iron craftsmanship caught the attention of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina), who purchased her for active military service. Rechristened the Razzoli, this humble Yorkshire trawler was armed and spent the remainder of the Great War serving on the frontlines of the Mediterranean naval theatre. This portrait stands as the definitive visual record of her British heritage before her heroic wartime transformation.

Condition: The painting is housed in an attractive period frame but features a contemporary mount. The paper displays some historic foxing consistent with its 115-year age, which is most apparent in the sky.

Frame: Height 48cm x Width 66.5cm. Painting: Height 29.5cm x Width 47.5cm.

Alexander Harwood (British, 1873–1943)

Alexander Harwood was a highly regarded and prolific British marine artist who dedicated his life to documenting the industrial shipping and fishing fleets of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born in the coastal town of Scarborough, Yorkshire, Harwood was an entirely self-trained artist who spent the majority of his working life on the docks as a fish porter. He did not formally begin painting until his forties, but his gritty, firsthand intimacy with the sea and the vessels he observed daily lent his artwork an unmatched level of technical accuracy.

Operating within the celebrated tradition of British "Pierhead Painters", Harwood’s distinctive portraits in watercolour, oil, and gouache quickly became highly fashionable among the shipmasters, skippers, and wealthy owners of the rapidly expanding Edwardian steam trawler fleets. His style beautifully bridges the gap between structured maritime draftsmanship and expressive folk art, masterfully contrasting highly accurate structural rigging with dramatic, churning wave formations.

While Harwood was highly prolific during his lifetime, a significant portion of his output was lost or discarded by the seaside families who originally owned them. Today, his surviving works are highly sought after by discerning marine collectors for their historical charm and rarity. His cultural importance in recording the golden age of the British industrial fishing fleet is firmly established, with several of his ship portraits preserved in permanent national public collections, most notably the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.