A story in action, Anton Otto Fischer's marine narrative painting of a merchant sailing ship setting out shows a demanding situation found at sea. Two sailors out on the flying jib boom work the stays and tacks of the jibs, directed by the officer in blue, his bushy moustache marking him most likely as "Cappy Rick". Fischer illustrated several Cappy Rick stories by Peter B. Kyne for The Saturday Evening Post, a popular fictional series based on real experiences, primarily in the West Coast lumber trade.
Fischer's elevated perspective presents a third-person omnipotent view of the action and shows the ready hands on the deck assisting. The boom's dolphin striker is dipped to the water, and the yellow slickers are undoubtedly soaked. The dramatic rising ocean swells are translucent with the blend of green-blue-white, and strikingly impasto. Fischer knew this ocean voyage well, earning his freedom from World War I Germany onboard.
The sense of building speed, especially with the churning white water before the bow, and the implied large size of the ship show the necessity of fast, competent skilled crewmen. Fischer illustrated such endeavors for The Post for more than 50 years, including the fictional adventures of shipping baron Glencannon and Tugboat Annie. His Cappy Rick works were first, from 1911 through the 1920s, and in the eyes of many, the best.
