Whalers in the Arctic

Hull was an important centre of the whaling industry from late in the sixteenth century to 1868, the ships sailing to Greenland and the Davis Straits. In a good year, 580 whales were caught. The whaling trade was at its height towards the latter half of the eighteenth century, and the artist was successful in painting a number of the more important vessels employed. The picture was therefore of special local interest to Hull.