Cozzens' skill at portraying almost any type of vessel helped to produce an important record of the ships of his day. Best known for his portrayals of pleasure craft and the stylish yachts owned by turn of the century American nobility, this work offers a fine view by Cozzens of one of the great merchant ships of the 19th century.
Red Jacket, at 2434.86 gross tons, was one of the largest ships of her time. Built in 1853 by George Thomas in Rockland, Maine measured 251.2 feet overall with a beam of 45.7 feet and a draft of 24 feet. She sailed for the firm of Seccomb & Taylor of Boston for most of her active career.
This example of Frederic Cozzens' skill at watercolors shows Red Jacket running under shortened sail in a choppy sea. The great rigs these vessels carried placed powerful stresses on their wooden hulls and captains often needed to exercise caution by shortening sail to avoid the ship literally coming apart under him.
