A fine gouache and watercolour ship portrait by the Reuben Chappell 1870-1940 probably the most well-known and highly regarded of the pier head painters. The work shows the S.S.Mountcharles under full steam off the coast. The S.S Mountcharles was a steam powered coastal cargo ship which was wrecked in 1953. The body of the ship is worked in gouache and the sea and sky in watercolour. The painting is in good condition with some browning to the paper. The frame is almost certainly the original as is the mount and the whole is in good condition with some repairs to the corners. The work is signed as is typical for the artist ‘R.Chappell’ and with the title ‘S.S.Mountcharles of Lancaster, Capt D.J.Hutton.’. Reuben Chappell 1870-1940 is one of the best known and collected ship portrait artists, these artists often called pier head painters would seek commissions from returning ships sketching them quickly by the harbourside and then working up full dramatically set portraits in the studio. ...