The Whale Ship Morgan

During the first half of the 19th century, the Quakers on the tiny island of Nantucket controlled the world's whale oil market. Herman Mellville remarked upon the stark contrast of their gentle pacifist religion and their savage and extremely dangerous line of work in the great American novel, Moby Dick, in the novel, the ship owners, captain Ahab, first mate Starbuck and many of the crew were Quakers. The whale ship Morgan in this painting (although it sailed out of Boston) was Quaker owned and run. It was one of the last sailing whale ships docked for the last time in the 1930's and is now at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. This painting depicts the Morgan being re-fitted and re-supplied at Nantucket in the 1840's. The two owners in the traditional Quaker hats and "shad belly' coats look on. In the center of the painting are two Morgan whaleboats waiting for their complement of rope, oars, and harpoons.