watercolour, 40 x 55 cm © Fergus A Ryan, 2018

Private collection

The ship to which this anchor belonged was the SS Polias, one of the first vessels to be made of concrete. It ran aground in a fierce storm in 1920 off Port Clyde in Maine, on Old Gilley Ledge, a small rocky island on the horizon just to the left of the picture, and broke up. The lighthouse at Marshall Point marks the entrance to Port Clyde harbour. Port Clyde was the summer home of NC Wyeth, where his house 'Eight Bells' is still situated across the harbour. Andrew Wyeth spent his summers painting in this area, notably at Olson's house at Hathorne Point near Cushing, a short distance up the nearby St George River. Olson's is the setting of Wyeth's iconic 'Christina's World' painting. Marshall Point Lighthouse was also made famous in a scene from the film 'Forrest Gump' when Tom Hanks' character runs up the bridge.