The steamship Mauretania in the Mersey, November 1907

This painting was initially acquired as a depiction of the Cunard Line ocean liner ‘Lusitania’, launched in 1906. However, the ship depicted was subsequently reidentified as the ‘Mauretania’, the sister ship to the ‘Lusitania’, which was launched in 1907. Key differences between the two ships include the position of ventilators. On the ‘Lusitania’, these were in a low position, but they were much more noticeable on the ‘Mauretania’, as shown in the painting.

The painting probably shows the ‘Mauretania’ arriving on the Mersey for the first time on 7 November 1907. On this occasion, the ship berthed alongside the Prince’s Landing Stage, before setting sail on its maiden voyage to New York on 16 November 1907.