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Thomas M. M. Hemy
datapages
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WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST - 1887
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And next, thanks to
both Ken Spooner of Nashville,
Tennessee, &
Neil ____ of Wiltshire, England, we have 'Women and
Children First'. The work appeared on Page 9 of the Jan. 1904 edition of
'Woman's Home Companion Magazine'.
Ken has kindly mailed to me the actual page which is in fact a giant page - 16 x 11 inches in size. The black
& white image itself, which takes up the
full page, is about 14 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches in size. My scan of that page is the large image below. |
And the work is signed & dated 1887, as you can see (not
easily),
at left above.
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Now it is possible that the original of the work
is in Neil ____'s hands in Wiltshire, England. That work, on canvas & 82 x 50 cm. in size (33 x 20
inches) (image at left) is in sober black & white tones. It was purchased, Neil tells me, at an antique
shop in Totnes, Devon, in 1989.
The name of the lifeboat is, I understand, clearly visible
on the painting itself - but not on the image below or the 'Woman's Home Companion Magazine' page from which it was
scanned. The lifeboat is
named 'THE GOOD SAMARITAN'. Thank you, Neil. |
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And we also have the
short but most interesting article, again thanks to Ken Spooner. Now I do not pretend to be an expert on Thomas Hemy, but this
is the very first mention I have seen that the artist's mother was lost at sea.
Lower on the page is the article that accompanied the work
in the Jan. 1904 edition of 'Woman's Home Companion Magazine' (cover at left) and makes that
statement. You can read every
word quite clearly. Thank you Ken. (The article was in one tall column, I believe, but I rearranged the text for better display here). |
A different print of this very same work was sold in
Nov. 2004 via eBay.
For U.S. $14.99. It would seem that the print which was for sale was extracted from an
1894 art journal and it listed the artist, at bottom left under the print,
as being H. M. Hemy. The listing did not name the art journal but did say 'There
is text below the image describing the print & another image & text on the
reverse of the page.'
And in early Feb. 2005 a print of what is clearly the identical work was
sold on e-Bay.
It clearly was
without doubt this very work. The listing had
the following
descriptive text which set out the vendor's understanding - that the shipwreck depicted took place on the Great Lakes in 1879.
And was later recovered by a wrecker named Leviathan. The text, alas, does not
name the vessel which was wrecked. All most interesting!
Wonderful antiquarian photogravure print is titled: WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, by F. M. M. HEMY and is an actual plate from a very rare art journal printed in 1897. I am
including this extra information on this Great Lakes shipwreck: Type at loss: propeller, wood, freighter Build info: 1873, A.A. Turner, Trenton, MI Specs: 235x40x21, 1406g Date of loss: 1879, Oct 29 Place of loss: Grand Haven Bar Lake Michigan Type of loss:
storm Loss of life: none of 68 aboard Carrying: provisions - 900 tons freight plus 7000 bbl flour Detail: She struck the notorious bar in a gale and broke up. Bound Milwaukee for Grand Haven. Usls
has a good story of her loss. Hailed from Grand Haven, formerly of Detroit. Her
engines were later recovered. Owned by the Northwestern Transportation Co.
Wrecked and declared a total loss in a storm Nov 4, 1873 on North Manitou.
Recovered the next summer by the wrecker LEVIATHAN. Stranded near Presque Isle,
MI, Lake Huron, in 1875 and largely rebuilt after recovery.
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The vendor of that item, whose web store is now long gone, kindly mailed to me the text
which appeared on the back of the print. Deana, I thank you! It reads as follows:
HEMY.
Amidst the sad records of human
life there are few incidents which present higher examples of heroism and of
tenderness than those terrible ocean disasters which now and then startle the
people of both continents. They present also evidences of shameless cowardice, as
well as lofty self-sacrifice.
There are certainly no dangers like those
which surround "them that go down to the sea in ships," for winds that wreck and
waves that drown vie with each other in setting at naught man's strength and
skill, whilst they yearn in fierce rivalry for excess of victims. The terror is
not lessened if the vessel in stress of weather is shattered upon the rough
shores of even friendly lands; where old ocean bids defiance to the strongest
arms and bravest hearts which would send aid to the drowning crews and
passengers.
There is something pathetic in the sight of a monster ship
groaning and wrestling with the angry waves in whose rough embrace it becomes a
mere cockle shell to be ground to atoms upon the rocks.
In the picture
which we present the artist has caught the terrible spirit of the occasion, and
shows us the stranded Leviathan being slowly reduced to indistinguishable drift,
but the terror is mitigated by the sight of the friendly life-boat with its
valiant crew, to whose care the women and children are first consigned.
It is one of these occasions which increase our confidence in the nobility of
human character. The shout of the intrepid captain, "Women and Children First,"
is heard above the thunder of the waves and the seething hiss of recoiling seas
as the life-boat swings along side the fated vessel.
"Women and Children
First" is the thought which Hemy has so vividly portrayed in the painting which
we here reproduce. Of the artist, F. M. M. Hemy, we learn but little, except
that in the year 1887 he gave to the world one of the most stirring scenes of
shipwreck and succor which the present generation has received.
It is to
be regretted that American artists have done so little for the development of a
fine school of marine painting. With a sea-coast extending from the frigid to
the torrid zones on either side of the continent, with any phase of changing
light and color both of sea and land, with opportunities to study the craft and
sailors of any foreign clime, nothing of importance has yet been accomplished
apart from a few individual instances.
A few have manifested the instinct
for this great branch of pictorial art, but they have evidently been depressed
or circumscribed by circumstances which hinder the finest exercise of their
powers, and consequently robs American art of what should be one of its most
prominent and delightful features.
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For a great many years, the webmaster, having read the above text, wondered whether the use of the word
'Leviathan' in the 4th paragraph of the
above text was intended
to name the vessel concerned or had some other meaning. It became clear however
that 'Leviathan' was not the name of the vessel depicted. But, strangely
perhaps, 'Leviathan' was the name of the
wrecker, a salvage tug most likely, which in the summer of the following year recovered the wreck. The
webmaster is not aware of the name of the art journal in which the print appeared in 1897.
The webmaster has not, in many years, revisited his many Hemy web pages, though
he continues to make them freely available for those who have an interest. And,
it is rare that any e-mail messages are received re any of the Hemy artworks
featured in these many pages. But ... in Jun. 2022, a kindly site visitor, provided a
fine image of a Hemy print. In adding that image into the site, the webmaster flipped to
this page to wonder why the vessel which was the subject of Hemy's dramatic
'Women and Children First' artwork has never been name identified.
I can now tell you that the vessel in question was named Amazon.
Which was wrecked on Oct. 28, 1879 at Grand Haven, Michigan, U.S.A. Hopefully in the next few days we
will be able to add into these pages some contemporary accounts of her loss as
it was reported in the U.S. newspapers. And in particular to make available a
detailed account of the events as they were published, in 1880, by the U.S. Life
Saving Service. Still a puzzle is how Thomas Hemy might have become aware of the
vessel's loss. The webmaster has not, so far at least, found any references to
the vessel's loss in the U.K. press of the time. I will add the additional info
at the bottom of this page.
Also first listed in Mar. 2005, & relisted, a print of the above work, said to be by Coggeshall,
(the
engraver), was
sold
on e-Bay
in early Aug. 2005 for U.S. $150.00.
The print, in its antique frame, looked
quite magnificent. I lowered the colour temperature of the print image (below) & trimmed it for better presentation on this page.
A 'Portfolio of Masterpieces' print of the work did not sell in Nov. 2006 for the most modest price of U.S. $3.50, was
relisted
in early December by vendor stuff741 (site is no longer) at U.S. $2.50,
& still did not sell. Most strange.
And a little bit more data! An e-Bay
item in May 2005
from a French vendor shows that the
work was published in France in 1892 with the title 'FEMMES ET ENFANTS D'ABORD'. It also uses the words 'ESTAMPE MINIATURE
N°408, EDITEUR Boussod, Valadon & Cie with an approx size of 25 X 17 cm. overall
& 16.5 X 11.5 cm.
for just the print. An e-Bay item in
Nov. 2019 offered for sale a
'rare, salvaged' & damaged print
of the work, stated to have been published in 1888 in Paris by Boussod, Valadon & Co.
The vendor stated that the print, in its frame, was trimmed before the vendor
owned it & 'is missing the bottom where date & publisher would be noted'. The
print itself is apparently about 26 x 19 1/2 inches in size. It was listed at
U.S. $475.00. The print is most
beautiful. As you can next see. Click the image to see it in a larger size.
In Sep. 2024, a copy of the above print, a print published in
France it would seem, was offered for sale via e-Bay
by 'utop2006' - of Essex, U.K. For U.S. $14.75.
Here. And
next is an image of the vendor's listing which may well have expired by the time
you read this.
Such listing was particularly interesting to the webmaster
because of the detailed data recorded upon the print. i.e. copyrighted in 1892
(I think that is what it said) by Boussod,
Valadon & Co., a Paris art dealer & art gallery owner. Which company, the print states, were successors to Goupil & Co. of
Paris, London and New York, and of
Blackie & Son Ltd. of Glasgow, Scotland. The print, as I read the text, was
printed in Paris & published on May 01, 1897. This site,
I now see, tells us that Boussod,
Valadon & Cie. succeeded Goupil & Co. in 1884 and closed in 1919. Thay had
three locations in Paris - their headquarters at 9 Rue Chaptal & two galleries at 2 Place de L'Opera and 19 Boulevard Montmartre.
On most site pages I state that I will provide more about that particular page's work or works when I have more to
say. Well
now, thanks to Marcus Hemy, I can do just that re this work! It would seem that in early 1887, Thomas Hemy issued invitations to attend at 42 Grove End Road,
St. Johns Wood, on Saturday/Sunday, March 26/27, 1887 to inspect
his pictures intended for display at the Royal Academy. (St. Johns Wood is in Central
London where Lord's, the famous cricket ground of Marylebone Cricket Club, is located). Marcus has provided, in fact, two such invitations, both
of which are blank & unused cards of 6 by 7 inches in size. One card specifically names 'Women and
Children First'. The other clearly is of that work but it is not named. On the rear of the cards, but Marcus
thinks recently added, is the date 1887. That year is surely correct as you can read at
the top of this page with the artist's signature & date
on the finished work. Here then, thanks to Marcus, are both of those
unique invitations.
If you can add anything to this page, do please
contact the webmaster.
I learn, from an e-Bay item in
Jun. 2006, that the print was also published by
the San Francisco Sunday Morning Bulletin on May 17, 1903. The print, 9 1/2 x 11
inches in size, refers
to it being reproduced with the permission of Goupil & Co. of Paris & refers
also to The Buffalo Pictorial Company of Buffalo, New York. Later, I learn from an e-Bay item in Jul. 2008 that the print was also
published in the Buffalo Sunday Courier, of Dec. 14, 1902.
Another puzzle. The dating of the work. I saw, via an e-Bay item in Sep. 2009, that a work entitled 'Women and Children First' was illustrated in 'Famous paintings',
by Fred H. Allen, Vol. II, published by
Haskell and Post, at New York, I believe, in 1882. Note the date. 5 years before the
date signed in the artist's hand we can read at the top of the page. BUT... the work was not illustrated as part of the e-Bay listing, so it could
possibly have been another Hemy work of the identical name. Hopefully someone can solve this little mystery.
The following text would seem to have accompanied
the above publication, which I now know, thanks to a site visitor, was published in 1888 & not in 1882.
Hopefully more on the subject soon.
"Women and
Children First" is the thought which Hemy has so vividly portrayed in the
painting which we here reproduce. Of the artist, F. M. M. Hemy, we learn
but little, except that in the year 1887 he gave to the world one of the most
stirring scenes of shipwreck and succor which the present generation has
received.
It is to be regretted that American artists have done so
little for the development of a fine school of marine painting. With a sea-coast
extending from the frigid to the torrid zones on either side of the continent,
with any phase of changing light and color both of sea and land, with
opportunities to study the craft and sailors of any foreign clime, nothing of
importance has yet been accomplished apart from a few individual instances.
A few have manifested the instinct for this great branch of
pictorial art, but they have evidently been depressed or circumscribed by
circumstances which hinder the finest exercise of their powers, and consequently
robs American art of what should be one of its most prominent and delightful
features.
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Thomas M. M. Hemy
datapages
01,
02
&
03 are now on site. Plus all
of the other image pages, accessible though the index on page
05. PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
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