Graves, a merchant sea captain of the second half of the 19th century who history records as having skippered numerous ships between east and west coast ports, is our enigmatic artist. He is known to have painted seascapes and maritime subjects during moments of professional leisure, primarily in the bay area.
Traveling southwesterly upon the San Francisco Bay, the U.S. Army transport Sherman carries cargo and passengers off the scenic Marin Peninsula. The headland's southern point, Fort Baker, displays its historic lighthouse facility in this work. The communities shown are believed to be Sausalito and Belvedere, partially obscured by the prominent display of Angel Island and Hospital Cove.
Graves lends a nice artistic touch to his painting of the U.S. quartermaster' department army ship, a steel steam yacht built in 1893 in Belfast Ireland, as the British ship MOBILE. A massive 5780 gross tons, she was 445' loa x 49.2' b x 30'd. Thirteen officers lead a crew of 172, not counting her military passengers. Graves put nice artistic touches into a straightforward masculine subject, with the parallel wake before the ship and the subtle, shadowy reaches of the background elevations. Completing the work is the blend of coal exhaust blending into the always present marine atmosphere of the San Francisco Bay.
