R. Barnes
The Merrimac and the Monitor
1888
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Framed: 42 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 2 3/8 in. (108 x 82.6 x 6 cm) Sight: 35 1/2 x 47 1/2 in. (90.2 x 120.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, New York
Object Number
1967.76.2
The Merrimac and the Monitor revisits a noted Civil War (1861-1865) naval encounter that introduced the era of ironclad warships. The skirmish took place in 1862 at Hampton Roads, Virginia, where several rivers meet before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. While protecting Union ships engaged in a blockade, the USS Monitor (at right in the painting) was attacked by the Confederate Navy’s Virginia, essentially a floating battering ram. Virginia, depicted here flying an early version of the Confederate flag, was built upon the surviving flat substructure of the Merrimac, a Union ship that had been previously burned to the waterline by Southern troops. The battle ended in a draw.
Found in Virginia; Argosy Gallery, New York; Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, New York, 1960 (60.38).
The American Federation of Arts, New York, "101 Masterpieces of American Primitive Painting from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch," 1961-1964, p. 151, no. 100, ill. pl. 100
BMA, "American Primitive Paintings, Pastels and Calligraphy of the 18th and 19th Centuries," Feb. 28-Apr. 15, 1973
American Embassy Residence, Paris, "Art in Embassies Program," 1977-1981, n.p., no. 23
BMA, "American Primitive Paintings, Pastels and Calligraphy of the 18th and 19th Centuries," Feb. 28-Apr. 15, 1973
American Embassy Residence, Paris, "Art in Embassies Program," 1977-1981, n.p., no. 23
Johnston, Sona. K. "American Paintings, 1750-1900, from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art." Baltimore, MD: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1983, pp. 20, ill.
Inscribed: I.r. in black, "R. Barnes"; I.r. in red, "./89/."
On View at the BMA
