William Howard Yorke (American, 1847-1921)


The St Charles off Anglesey signed, dated and inscribed 'W.H.YORKE/LIVERPOOL/1889' (lower right)oil on canvas60.5 x 91.5cm (23 13/16 x 36in).
|ProvenanceThis work was commissioned by the Captain of St Charles, Martin Chapman, c.1890, thence by descent to the current owners.On the 13th May 1892 St Charles set sail from Nainamo, Vancouver Island, destined for San Francisco. However, on the morning of the 17th May she suffered an explosion on board whilst two members of the crew were retrieving potatoes from the lower holds. It is believed that the lamp they were carrying ignited coal gas that had been accumulating over the first few days of the journey. The two men were badly injured, and Captain Chapman, whose quarters were directly above the explosion, suffered a broken spine. The ship was devastated and quickly caught alight. All nineteen crewmen evacuated between three lifeboats. Two-hundred miles off the coast and with no compass, the crew miraculously managed to navigate themselves back to the coast, landing at Cape Foulweather, Oregon. Captain Chapman would die of his injuries shortly after arriving to shore.Born in New Brunswick, U.S.A., William Howard Yorke (1847-1921) trained under his father, the marine painter William Gay Yorke (1817-c.1882). He moved to Liverpool at a young age where he developed his trade as a ship portraitist, working on a commission basis mainly for ships' owners and captains. His works are held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool; and the Maritime Museum, San Francisco.