James Bard (American, 1815-1897), The Sidewheeler Creole, oil on canvas, signed and dated Picture Drawn and Painted by James Bard/686 Washington St./1852 lower right, inscribed Messrs. Bootman and Smith, Painters, N.Y. lower right, inscribed Hull Built by C.?? lower left, inscribed Muirmarks, N.Y. lower left, 31 in. x 50 in., unframed. E30000/50000 Note: Neal Auction Company is pleased to offer the recently discovered painting The Sidewheeler Creole by famed ship portraitist James Bard. James and his twin brother John collaborated together in the early nineteenth century and became the preeminent maritime artists of their time. After the American Revolution and War of 1812, the young American republic experienced a burst of financial growth and national pride. Paintings of sailing ships and steamers, which depicted the speed, beauty and advancements in industry and commerce, were especially popular. The meticulous details of the ships in their paintings reveal that the Bard brothers often worked off the blueprints and made visits to the ships during construction. In winter of 1849, John Bard appears to have fallen into a period of personal decline and subsequently ended his partnership with his brother. During the early 1850s, James Bard continued to receive numerous painting commissions and appears to have matured as an artist. The painting The Sidewheeler Creole has the typical Bard nuances of numerous oversized flags with the ship's names clearly visible, the sprays of water off the bow and side paddle wheel, small figures of the captain and crew formally dressed in black, and the meticulously drafted ship shown at sea. In Way's Packet Directory, 1848-1994, there is listed the Creole, a side-wheel wood hull packet that was built in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Creole ran on the Red River from New Orleans to Alexandria with C.H. Wilson serving as captain. The Creole was burned and destroyed in New Orleans on December 27th, 1850. Also listed is the Belle Creole, a side-wheel wood hull packet built in 1845 in Moundsville, Virginia and operated the New Orleans-Bends route in 1846 and the New Orleans-Vicksburg Trade in 1850 with J.M. White as the captain in 1850. Ref: Peluso, Jr., Anthony J., The Bard Brothers: Painting America Under Steam and Sail, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. and The Mariners' Museum, New York, 1997; and Way, Jr., Frederick, Way's Packet Directory, 1848-1994, Ohio University Press, Athens, 1994. Provenance: Private Louisiana collection.