Detail showing John Gordon
Detail showing T H Nasmith
Detail showing Olivia T Gordon
View of Port Colborne
This view of four tugs at the mouth of the Welland Canal in Port Colborne may have been painted to celebrate the success of John Gordon, a local lumber merchant. Presumably he is the well-attired gent on the stern, smoking. Three of the tugs are known to have been owned by Gordon in 1874, the date of this painting: the Olivia T Gordon (his spouse), T H Nasmith (the local manager of the Imperial Bank, who may have provided funding to Gordon), and Favourite. This painting provides a detailed historical perspective on the Welland Canal during the 1870s.