English: BPLDC no.: 09_03_000078

Subtitle: Pirate dhow; Spanish or Venetian galley; Spanish galleon

Creator: King, Frederic Leonard (American painter and illustrator, 1879-1947)

Date created: 1934-1935

General format: oil on canvas

BPL Department: Special Collections, East Boston Branch Library

Dimensions: visible images 22 ½ x 110 ¼ in., framed 25 ½ x 113 ¼ in.

Description: (left to right)

Pirate dhow This is a typical 16th century dhow, a grab-built, lateen-rigged vessel of Arabia, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. It has the usual long overhang forward, high poop deck and open waist. The dhow was notorious in the slave trade on the east coast of Africa, and even after a thousand years is still one of the swiftest of sailing crafts.

Spanish or Venetian galley These 16th century galleys appeared very gay with their flags flying and with the beautifully carved ornaments that covered the poop deck and the stem. But the story of the galley slaves and their wretched life of imprisonment makes them seem more like floating infernos. The galleys were often a substitute for the gallows and they were used as a life-long punishment for even the most trivial offenses.

Spanish galleon Galleons were usually treasure ships, and great tales of romance are attached to the names of these old vessels. Stories of pirates and wild adventure follow in their wake.

Notes: The description above was written in 1935. Ships Through the Ages, originally four murals painted by Frederic Leonard King between 1934 and 1935, was commissioned as part of the Public Works Art Project for the Jeffries Point Branch of the Boston Public Library. In 1956, the Jeffries Point Branch closed, and each mural was divided into multiple paintings and relocated to the East Boston Branch Library where they are currently on display; however, several sections of the murals are missing.