James Fulton Pringle (Anglo American, 1788-1847)
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This painting was exhibited at the National Academy of Design at their annual exhibition of 1832, listed in the catalog as number 22. Signed ‘J. Pringle 1832’, in carved and gilded frame.
Possibly self-taught, Pringle specialized in marine paintings, landscapes, and occasionally, portraiture. In 1800, James Pringle exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy: ‘View of a seventy-four on the stocks, and the launch of a frigate’ (probably observed by the artist at the Deptford Yard, as he was then residing on Kent Street in Deptford). Little is known about his life or artistic output over the next ten years, although Pringle apparently traveled to the United States sometime prior to the War of 1812 in the capacity of a sailor, possibly settling there. In 1811, the American merchant ship in which he was serving was stopped at sea by a Royal Navy frigate and Pringle, being English born, was pressed into service. Pringle subsequently exhibited four additional marine works at the Royal Academy between 1812 and 1818, with Sydenham (his place of birth) listed as his address, although it is likely that he was still in Royal Navy service during part of this period).
Pringle seems to have been a wandering spirit and traveled extensively until 1828, when he arrived in New York and resumed active work as a marine painter, exhibiting frequently at the National Academy of Design between 1832 and 1844, as well as the Apollo Association and the Brooklyn Institute. He later relocated from Manhattan to Brooklyn (1835) and lived and worked there until his death on April 1, 1847. Pringle later added a middle name, Fulton, apparently derived from his home address of Fulton Street, to distinguish himself from another James Pringle then living in Brooklyn (who was mentally imbalanced and died shortly after being institutionalized). Pringle’s well-populated views of the early New York waterfront are an admixture of landscape and genre works, carefully delineated, yet charming in their naivety. In his day, Pringle was well-known and considered one of the best of the marine painters then working in the United States but has unfortunately been too long overlooked in the historiography of American marine painting.
Item Date: 1832
Measurement: 32 ½ x 27 inches
Material: Oil on canvas
Item Condition: Lined, scattered inpainting, displays well, blacklight images available
Price: $14,500
SKU 233-69
For More Information, Please Contact David Hillier at 978-597-8084 or email drh@aaawt.com.