Antonio Jacobsen (Danish) (1850-1921)
Antonio Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but emigrated to the United States in 1871. He studied at the Royal Academy of Copenhagen. Jacobsen began his career by painting designs of stages in New York city. However, he soon became America’s most prolific marine artist; he painted about 6,000 portraits of steamships that came into New York city harbor between 1876 and 1919.
Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 2, 1850. He left his family behind and arrived in New York in the early 1870’s. Like many other immigrants, he went to New York City’s Battery Park looking for work. He passed his days sketching the ships that sailed in and out of the harbor. It wasn’t long before a representative from Marvin Safe Company noticed his drawings and offered him a job decorating safes. His ability as an artist was further recognized as he began to receive commissions from sea captains and ship owners, and eventually Steamship companies, to record their entire fleet. In addition, the Clyde Line, the Black Ball Line, the Mallory Line, the Anchor Line and Red Star Line also sought his services. The notoriety that Jacobsen received from all these commissions helped establish him as the foremost chronicler of American shipping in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The viewer will note relatively few paintings done on canvas . This is because, after 1900, he started painting on academy board. By about 1906 he was using board almost exclusively. This change had an effect on his style, as board allowed him to use more pressure with his brush, making a smoother painted surface and allowing for finer detail.
Jacobsen died in Newark, New Jersey in 1921.