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Oil on canvas, 41cm x 61.5cm
The number 9 Liverpool pilot boat 'Liver' is shown here in two views off the South Stack and Holyhead mountain.
In the main view the pilot boat is seen from her port side under full sail making good progress through the water. As well as the numbers on her sails she also has a small '9' flag at the top of the mast. The blue peter indicates she is on station with pilots available. An apprentice, wearing his distinctive red woollen hat, is at the rudder and a top hatted pilot can be seen near the mast. Three further members of crew can also be seen on deck. This is an excellent close-up view of a pilot boat of the period clearly showing for instance the distinctive colour bands of the hull.
The second view shows the pilot boat on the opposite tack at the left hand side of the scene. In the foreground is a small two-masted boat which may contain an agent awaiting the arrival of a vessel.
'Liver' was built in Liverpool in 1822 and remained in service until she was replaced in 1846.
Miles Walters (1773-1855) was apprenticed as a shipwright and spent time at sea before setting up in the dockland area of London and beginning his artistic career. He moved to Liverpool about 1828/9 where he spent the rest of his life. A number of paintings between 1827 and 1832 are the joint work of father and son and are signed 'Walters & Son'. The increasing influence of Samuel can be seen over this period as the naive elements are played down, the treatment of the sea becomes less mechanical and the overall treatment more accomplished.