Returning the Pilot by Don Demers.

 

 The year is 1900. The steamship Virginian sets sail from Boston Harbor for Liverpool. On board for the departure is a pilot, familiar with local waters, who will aid the steamship captain in navigating through the waters around Massachusetts. Once the ship has left the coastline, the pilot returns to shore via a small boat, in this case, the pilot’s schooner Varuna. Don Demers depicts this moment with care and passion in his painting, Returning the Pilot, 1900.

What impressed Demers most was the routine nature of what seems like an epic moment. Rowing across the ocean “was an everyday job for these guys. Something like this could happen to someone like us once and we’d talk about it for the rest of our lives. These guys did this every week.” This compelling human narrative from one of the most collectible marine artists working today, combines a dramatic seascape with working men at sea to create this historical scene.

 

Canvas released 2007.