Temple West and Reginald Arnold Borstel were two of Australia's leading ship's portraitists. Working originally for the Adelaide Photographic Company, they created portraits from photos for post cards, cabinet cards, and commercial advertisements. Later working out of West's studio in Newcastle the pair collaborated on numerous works documenting the tea clippers, wool ships, and schooners that visited maritime Australia.
Australian ship's portraiture is still remarkably undiscovered and undervalued. Artists like West and Borstel were very skilled in their portraits, usually painted on direct commission from captains or owners. They were two of the last to record, through photos and paintings, the final days of the great age of sail in Australia as vessels such as DUNFERMLINE made their last voyages.
DUNFERMLINE was one of the last of the windjammers. Built of steel by Potter in 1890, this mighty 4 masted bark measured 308'l x 45'w x 25'd. She is shown here flying the house flag of Macvicar and Marshall of London, her first owners.
