Roger CHAPELET (1903-1995) - Lot 72

Roger CHAPELET (1903-1995) The Clipper ship Loch Etive. Oil on canvas signed and titled lower right. 60 x 81 cm. Roger CHAPELET (1903-1995) discovered the maritime world when, in 1927, he boarded the Rollon, where his brother was a radio operator. In 1929, he discovered new horizons and boarded sailing ships to paint fishing campaigns on the banks of Newfoundland and Greenland. In the 1930s, he became a poster artist for France's leading shipping companies. In 1936, he was appointed painter to the navy and made a member of the Académie de la Marine. During the Second World War, he served on transatlantic convoys, then as a naval commissioner in the Mediterranean and Indochina in 1946, while continuing to paint. Along with Marin MARIE and Albert BRENET, he is considered one of the three great marine painters of the 20th century. The Musée National de la Marine is devoting an exhibition to him from October 8, 1993 to December 5, 1994. The Clipper Loch Etive was the fifteenth ship built by Messrs J & A. Inglis for the Loch Line. Inglis for the Loch Line of Glasgow, managed by Messrs Aitken, Lilburn & co. She weighed 1235 tons, was around 70 meters long, 10 meters wide and 6.5 meters deep in the hold. Commissioned in 1877, she was commanded by Captain William Stuart until 1894, then by Captain Fishwick and Captain Anderson, before being sold to France in 1911 for £1,350. She made many voyages between England and Australia, passing through India loaded with bales of wool and jute. The Clipper Loch Etive became famous thanks to one of its crew members, none other than Joseph Conrad, who served as 3rd mate. Conrad cites the ship in one of his most popular works, "Mirror of the Seas".