Report Me All Well

"Report Me All Well" - Ship W.R. Grace under full sail. Artist Charles Robert Patterson (1878-1958) Oil on canvas Painting Approx. 10' tall X 7' wide. Vessel's gross tonnage 1,893; reg. length 218.1' This three-decked ship was built at Bath 1873 by John McDonald for Chapman & Flint, a partnership of Mainers who had moved to the New York area to do business. She was named for William Russell Grace, head of a New York shipping firm that had its origins in the Peruvian guano-carrying trade and still exists today. W. R. Grace was built for the California trade, mainly carrying grain, and followed that trade until being lost in a hurricane in 1889. Sailor-painter Charles Robert Patterson painted this mural for a Grace Line passenger/freight liner in 1932-1933; it was removed at the outbreak of World War II and never replaced. The ship is shown northbound in the Pacific, passing another vessel. In the days before radio it was common for vessels passing closely at sea to identify themselves and ask to be reported, not knowing which vessel would make port first. The Grace has hoisted the signal flags BQD, meaning "report me all well." 99.50, Gift of W. R. Grace & Co.