Portrait of the Steamship Henry L. Johnson
By Vincent Nickerson (American 1844-1910)

Signed lower right and dated “88”
29” x 41”
Pastel on paper

The artist vincent Nickerson was one of a handful of maritime artists working in the Great Lakes area in the late 19th century. His home base was the Cleveland docks, where he maintained a studio and had access to shipping companies and captains and had a lucrative career painting portraits of their vessels. The Henry Johnson was a 272’ by 40’ wide wooden steamer built in 1888 by the Cleveland Dry Dock company. The steamer carried iron ore and other freight in the Great Lakes until she collided with the Fred Pabst in 1902 in Lake Huron.