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According to John Wilmerding, Unicorn, Salem Harbor, 1840 (inv. 600) is one of Fitz Henry Lane's earliest known oil paintings, and one of only three known from 1840. It shows the arrival of the Cunard Lines steam packet, “Unicorn” on its maiden voyage from England. During the early part of his career, Lane was evidently keen to cultivate the shipping magnate, Samuel Cunard, as a client, since several of his works dating from this period depict Cunard line boats. In a letter of June 25, 1971, John Wilmerding writes: "Lane's painting of the Cunard Steamer, “Unicorn” is . . . closely related in subject and composition to one of the others from this year, “S.S. Britannia in Boston Harbor” which is in a private collection. Together they are exemplary of Lane's early interest in shipping activities along the New England coast as he became familiar with it during his youth in Gloucester and his apprenticeship at Pendleton's Lithography shop in Boston . . . The “Unicorn in Salem Harbor” shows the impact of Lane's graphic training on his early style in oil painting. His astute sense of contrasting lights and darks, his preference for seeing forms primarily as silhouettes, and his reliance on clear, careful draughtsmanship—all derive from his early work as a lithographer."
–Sotheby’s
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Salem Harbor is located on the North Shore of Massachusetts. By Lane's time, it already had a long history as an important seaport. In the mid-nineteenth century, its ship captains had established trade with distant ports in China and the East Indies.
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