Painting unveiled at Discovery Museum

A painting showing one of the most famous ships to be built on Tyneside, which was previously hanging on board the QE2, has been unveiled and is now on show at Discovery Museum.

The painting, by North East artist T.M. Hemy, shows Mauretania leaving the Tyne in 1907. It will be displayed at Discovery Museum, where visitors can also see Turbinia, the world’s first ship to be powered by steam turbines.

Graham Bradshaw, curator of Discovery Museum, explains:

'The painting actually shows Turbinia sailing alongside Mauretania - in fact, Turbinia was unable to sail on the day due to a mechanical problem so this is an example of artistic licence on Hemy's part.

'It is a great opportunity for people to be able to see this important painting, alongside Turbinia in real life.'

In October 2008, the painting was presented by Captain Ian McNaught on behalf of Cunard to Jaap Kroese, chairman of Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Ltd, who in turn presented it to Councillor Ged Bell, chair of the Tyne & Wear Museums Joint Committee.

The oil painting shows Mauretania, which was the largest passenger ship ever built on the Tyne, leaving the Tyne to sail round the North of Scotland on her way to Liverpool.

The scene was described by Shipbuilder magazine’s ‘Mauretania special edition’ of November 1907:

'The departure of the Mauretania from the Tyne presented a scene so animated and enthusiastic that it will not be readily forgotten by those who witnessed it. To the accompaniment of shrieks from the syrens of the numerous craft in the river and the roar of the “buzzers” of the shipyards and engine works, mingled with the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators who crowded every coigne of vantage on both sides of the river, the vessel left her berth at Wallsend on the afternoon of the 22nd October, with a distinguished company on board, and was towed without the slightest hitch to the open sea.'

In 1909 the ship broke the world record for a trans-Atlantic crossing. She also played an important role in World War 1, when she was transformed using dazzle paint, a technique that used striped primary colour designs influenced by cubism to camouflage her from enemy ships.

Alec Coles, director of Tyne & Wear Museums, adds:

“It is fantastic that this painting has been loaned to Tyne & Wear Museums - it is by an artist who is important to the region, and it shows one of Tyneside’s proudest ship-building achievements, so it is fitting that it will now go on show at Discovery Museum where it will be accessible to everyone in the region for free.”

Jaap Kroese of Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Ltd. says:

“We hope many visitors, local, national and international, take advantage of the museum’s great facilities and get as much enjoyment from the painting in the future as it achieved in the past.”

Discovery Museum is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 2pm to 5pm on Sundays.

Admission is free.