Original watercolor of a whaleship and schooners anchoring in New Bedford Harbor. Unlike the quick sketch of the water, Russell his signature detail of the sails and rig lines. "This whale ship is probably returning from a cruise. Many gulls seem to be interested in this scene, welcoming the vessel back to her home port. Palmer's Island Light is seen at the right. The signature is not clear but this water color is undoubtedly a Russell."
On the verso is a sketch of a train accident that Russell perhaps witnessed coming into Newport. On January 15, 1874, a train leaving from New Bedford at 10:15am on the New Bedford Railroad ran off the track and rolled down the embankment near the junction of Middleborough and Taunton road. Russell accurately presents two train compartments on its side on the embankment separated from the rest of the moving train. Russell depicts the incident in varying perspectives; the tracks are viewed from a bird��s-eye view while the stub switch is depicted in profile.
See Newport Daily News (Newport, RI), Jan. 16, 1874. Page 3.
Allan Forbes, Whale Ships and Whaling Scenes as Portrayed by Benjamin Russell. Presenting Reproductions in Color of the Paintings of the Foremost Artist in That Field (Boston: Printed for the Second Bank-State Street Trust Co, 1955), 70.
