Painting, <i>Harriet</i>
date: label: date made
content: ca 1793
name: label: artist
content: Groenewegen, Gerrit
notes: label: Description
content: This 1793 print attributed to Gerrit Groenewegen shows three small brigs in port. The brig in the foreground is identified by “HARRIET of Georgetown” written on its stern. It is flying an American flag. The flag has 13 stars, which dates it to between 1777 and 1795. The two ships on either side are both flying tri-color horizontally striped blue-white-red flags. The blue-white-red flag is used by the small European country of Schleswig-Holstein, which at times has belonged to both Denmark and Germany. Perhaps the artist meant to paint the flag of the Netherlands and reversed the blue and red stripes accidentally. The buildings rising from the shore in the background and the European clothing of the individuals indicate that the ships most likely lie in port of a European harbor, perhaps Dutch. Gerrit Groenewegen (1754-1826) was a Dutch artist originally taught to be a shipbuilder until an accident at the shipyard caused the loss of one of his legs. After the accident he studied under Nicholaes Muys to become an artist, and began his career as a maritime painter. He is best known for his serial of 84 engravings depicting Dutch vessels in port at Rotterdam. Some of the features of this print do not match other attributes of this artist, calling the date and attribution into question.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Maritime
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0279.081
label: accession number
content: 2005.0279
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0279.081
objectType: label: Object Name
content: engraving
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 in x 12 1/2 in; 20.32 cm x 31.75 cm