Antique C Mcknight Smith 1896 America’s Cup Sailboat Racing Sailing Painting

Original 1896 c mcknight smith sailing race painting

i recently acquired an incredible archive of sailing and america’s cup races by artist, illustrator, and writer, c mcknight smith. In doing research, I was surprised that I was unable to find a comprehensive biography about the artist. What I have found is that he was known for his nautical paintings from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. In 1891 he published a book ‘drift from the sea of life’ that was a compilation of his sailing paintings paired with poems about the sea life. His works very rarely come to market as I have only a handful with 2 of those 4 having sold at christies for thousands of dollars. Also all the ones I have found are from later in the 20th century. None like this and the other early examples I am offering. I also found that he was a writer about boats as well as his works were published in the scientific american in the 1920s. If anyone has any other biographical information about the artist, I would really appreciate it.

This is an incredible painting of what is most probably an america’s cup race or some other important sailing race from the period. Gouache on illustration board measuring 12 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches. Signed and dated lower left. Overall, painting is in excellent condition. Some consistent toning to the background which has caused the sky coloring to fade but not too bad. The boats and the seas are still vibrant and show incredible detail. Really an outstanding example of a rare sailing painting. This one one of the ones I acquired that did not have an original label on it. But being such a great painting I decided to have this one archival double matted and framed in a beautiful silver frame. Frame measures 21 3/4 x 25 3/8 inches.