Blog: The Emigrant Ship

We’re really pleased to say that our latest blog was written by Year 11 student Elinor, who was with us recently on work experience from Guiseley School Technology College. Elinor spent a week shadowing staff at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery and was inspired to write a piece about her favourite piece of artwork there, The Emigrant Ship. We really hope Elinor’s writing inspires readers of this blog to visit Cartwright Hall.

The Emigrant Ship by C J Staniland is part of Yorkshire’s Favourite Paintings and more information can be found here

http://www.yorkshiresfavourites.org/paintings/the-emigrant-ship.html

It has been incredibly difficult choosing a work of art as my favourite piece. This is because there are many works of art at Cartwright Hall that have caught my attention such as: ‘The Garden of Enchantment,’ ‘The Brown Boy’ and ‘The Heart of the West Riding.’ All these paintings are fascinating and I was surprised by their beauty and detail. However, the piece of artwork I have decided to write about is The Emigrant Ship by Charles Joseph Staniland.

The art work is an oil painting, completed in 1880.  You can clearly see the age of the painting through the clothes the people wear which represent the fashion of the era. Not only is it a stunning piece of artwork, but it is keeps us intrigued with the context surrounding the picture. You are continually questioning what is going on in the painting. It’s clear, that a number of people are boarding the ship, presumably to emigrate. However, the cluster of people stood next to the ship each tell their own story, which you can interpret yourself. It is a very mysterious painting.

I would highly recommend you visit Cartwright Hall Art Gallery and see The Emigrant Ship for yourselves. There are many other paintings in Cartwright Hall which I am sure you would find inspiring.

Elinor                                                                                                               Year11 student                                                                                                Guiseley School Technology College