Name/Title
PaintingEntry/Object ID
1994.41.5Description
Watercolor painting on ruled lined paper showing a harpooned whale. The what is a large, grey sperm whale with its mouth open and its tail pointed upward. There is red (blood) spraying from the front tip, and 2 long, straight harpoons attached to the whale in the center. Each harpoon has a cord attached to it that is wrapped around the whale's tail.Type of Painting
PaperContext
Painted by Nathaniel Burbank of South Walden, Vermont.Acquisition
Accession
1994.41Source or Donor
Lyndes, Bryce B.Acquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
In memory of Pauline Burbank Lyndes WelchMade/Created
Artist
Burbank, Nathaniel (1828-1913)Date made
1860Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
PaintingNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Dimension Description
OverallHeight
7-1/2 inWidth
12-7/8 inRelationships
Related Places
Place
Town
WaldenCounty
Caledonia CountyState/Province
VermontCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaInterpretative Labels
Label
Nathaniel Burbank of South Walden, Vermont wen to sea in 1858 and didn't return home until after the end of the Civil War. The logbook was kept of his first voyage aboard the Joseph Grinnell, which sailed for the Pacific Ocean out of Bedford, Massachusetts on June 18, 1858 under William Thomas as Master. Burbank made his awls from whalebone and drew the picture of his prey, the Sperm whale. Throughout his voyage he would stamp the book with a whale for a capture and a whale's tail for one that got away.
Burbank's written accounts of his whaling career end in 1862. His accounts in this book continued in 1872 listing produce from and work on his Vermont farm.