Jack L. Gray
The most widely known schooner in the world, BLUENOSE, came to be the nautical identity of an entire country and its people. Built in 1921, a racing schooner that was capable of working the fishing banks of the Northern Atlantic Ocean, her owners, designers and captains always had an eye on a certain prize: The International Fishermen's Trophy.
In what may only be classified as one of the finest portrayals of the champion racer and Nova Scotian schooner, Gray has put the dramatic excitement directly on his canvas. The sailors at the rails of the two schooners have every eye on each other and the waves of a sparkling Atlantic Ocean, and every effort is employed to hit their top speed. The artist has such a unique touch with his brushwork presentation that the schooner would be recognizable even without her identity on the name board.
Triumphant in her maiden race over the American schooner ELSIE, that event would set the course for BLUENOSE's entire racing career. In epic matches against dozens of schooners, including HENRY FORD, DELAWANA, and her closest rival, GERTRUDE L. THEBAUD, she was victorious in nearly every match, and even went to the United Kingdom for a successful race against the English regattas in 1935. Her most renown captain, Angus Walters, purchased the schooner when it became necessary for the syndicate to sell her. Her career was spectacular, and is every bit properly commemorated in this narrative portrait by Gray.
