Schooner BRILLIANT

oil, 23" x 48"

$130,000

Still sailing out of Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut today, this Classic Schooner was built in 1932 for Walter Barnum and designed by legendary yacht designers Olin and Rod Stephens. John created this painting to mark the 60th anniversary of her launching in 1932. He shows her here with Barnum at the helm, and Olin and Rod onboard Brilliant’s shake-down cruise. The well-known yachtsman Briggs Cunningham bought Brilliant after the war, and sailed her out of Pequot Yacht Club. He donated her to Mystic Seaport in 1952.

 After a stint as a successful commercial illustrator and instructor at the Philadelphia College of Art, John Mecray began what was to become his full-time passion – recreating America’s great sailing yachts with a move to Newport, RI in 1976. There he became acquainted with the world’s prominent yachtsmen, joining Ted Turner and Gary Jobson aboard the America’s Cup winner Courageous in 1977 as a member of the afterguard. In subsequent years, his devotion to yachting led him to help found both the Museum of Yachting and the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport. Through his unflinching eye, attention to every detail and meticulous craftsmanship, his paintings have helped bring alive the majesty of the great sailing yachts for generations to come.

 Painting Detail