Genre scene with a crowded ferry boat approaching a Mediterranean port (probably Malta) was executed in 1840 by listed American painter Charles B. Lawrence ( 1790 - Bordentown, Ney Jersey - 1864). The artist was born and raised near Bordentown, New Jersey. A painter of landscapes, portraits, he studied with Gilbert Stuart and Rembrandt Peale. Lawrence’s earliest exhibited paintings were of Bordentown; one was engraved in the Port Folio in July 1816. Lawrence moved to Philadelphia by 1814, where he regularly exhibited new works at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts until 1830.

Literature: (in French) Emmanuel Bénézit (eds.): Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, Sculpteurs, dessinateurs et engravers de tous les temps et de tous les pays, Greend, Paris 1999; (in German) Thieme/Becker "Allgemeines Kuenstlerlexikon ", Leipzig, 1999.

Inscription: signed Charles B. and dated 1840 lower left.The identify of authorship was confirmed by experts of Christie’s /London ( see sale catalogue " Maritime art" on 5.06.2014, Lot no. 53

Technique: oil on canvas, gilt frame.

Measurements: image in oval w. 16" x h 12 7/8" (40,5 x 32,5 cm ); matted and framed w 20 1/8" x h 16 3/4" (51 x 42,5 cm).

Condition: in very good condition.