Antonio JACOBSEN (1850-1921) - Lot 90

Antonio JACOBSEN (1850-1921) Portrait of the Transatlantic Oscar II, 1910 Oil on panel, signed and dated lower right 54 x 91 cm (worn and missing) The SS "Oscar II" was launched in 1901 in Glasgow by Alexander Stephen and Sons for the Norwegian America Line (DFDS) and sailed the Christiania (Oslo) route to New York. The "Peace Ship" was the nickname of the liner Oscar II. It was on this ship that industrialist Henry Ford organized and launched his 1915 peace mission to Europe, inviting pacifist activists. He hoped to create enough publicity to encourage the warring nations to convene a peace conference and negotiate an end to the First World War. Unfortunately, the mission was widely ridiculed by the press, which dubbed the Oscar II the "Ship of Fools", but also the "Ship of Peace". Fights between activists, mockery by the press and illness spoiled Ford's voyage. THE Peace mission failed, reinforcing Ford's reputation as a supporter of unusual causes. The ship is named after the former Swedish Monarch H.M. King Oscar II of Sweden (also King of Norway until 1905), who, according to Ford, was a peace-loving monarch. Antonio JACOBSEN (1850-1921) Transatlantic Liner Oscar II Oil on Panel, dated 1910 Dimension s: 54 x 91 cm. SS Oscar II was launched in 1901, in Glasgow by Alexander Stephen and Sons for the Scandinavian America Line (DFDS) and sailed on the Route Christiania (Oslo) to New York Note. The Peace Ship was the common name for the ocean liner Oscar II, on which American industrialist Henry Ford organized and launched his 1915 amateur peace mission to Europe.