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The Shipping Forecast33” x 44” (837 x 1150mm) / Oil on gessoed panel / £7500
The ocean liner, American Star, was launched in 1939 for the United States Lines. In her 54-year career she served as liner, troopship and cruise ship. She had many names: SS America, USS West Point, SS Australis, SS Italis, SS Noga, SS Alferdoss and finally SS American Star. In 1994, at the end of her life, she was being towed to Thailand to be converted into a floating hotel. During a storm off the west coast of Africa the ship broke the towlines and was left to float free. After drifting for days, she beached at Playa de Garcey, on the west coast of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. No effort was made to re-float her. For many years the wreck was a famous local tourist attraction. After constant battering from the sea she eventually broke in half and finally disappeared beneath the waves in 2014.
...Low points in human history. Brexiteers turn their backs on the Ode to Joy. And the Nazis play it in Auschwitz… [email protected] 07881 908903 |