Frank Barnes

Frank Barnes 1859 - 1941 HMNZS Achilles & HMNZS Leander Oil on board 25.0 x 56.0 Signed more info... HMNZS Achilles was a Leander-class light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in the Second World War. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate. HMNZS Leander was a light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship of a class of eight ships, the Leander-class light cruiser and was initially named HMS Leander.

241. Frank Barnes - TSS Maori off Sinclair Head, Wellington Oil on board 50.0 x 77.0 Signed, inscribed & dated 1911 more info... Please note this is a late entry and is not included in the printed catalogue (online only). Lot 100p. All late entries will be offered directly after Lot 100. Little is known about Frank Barnes although he is one of New Zealand's most prolific maritime artists. Believed to have jumped ship he lived in Wellington during the late 1890s before moving to the Hutt Valley where he worked as a shepherd and boundary rider for the Riddiford family. As a boundary rider he would have checked the 7,000 acre farm owned by the Riddifords between the Wainuiomata and Mukamuka Rivers as well as the Te Awaiti Block on the East Coast which covered 30,000 acres. He worked and lived alone in a station hut near Turakirae Head, Palliser Bay, where it is said that he trained sheep dogs. In his leisure time he painted the ships that passed through the Wellington Heads. The few stories known about the artist describe him as a loner and binge drinker, who painted ship portraits to pay for drink on his few trips to town. His heavy drinking could have contributed to his move to the isolated Orongorongo Station. During the 1890s Frank lived on Hawker Street, Mt Victoria where he was commissioned to paint the Union Steam Ship Company vessel Takapuna, by her engineer, George Robinson. The painting was inherited by his grandson Graeme Smith who had been enthralled by the painting as a young boy. Graeme asked for the painting and enquired about the artist. He remembered his grandfather saying 'Frank is always drunk but he paints good ships' There is another story that the locals would purchase paintings down at the Hutt and Wellington pubs where Frank could also be persuaded to accept commission work. He worked in oils and occasionally painted on feathers or eggs. His paintings include a range of vessels from the Wellington harbour tug 'Toia' to the Royal Navy cruiser 'HMS New Zealand', coastal traders to passenger liners. Frank Barnes died in Wellington Hospital on 27 April 1941 from hypostatic pneumonia after fracturing his arm. He is buried in Taita Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Download late entry supplement, PDF (456KB)

Frank Barnes Working 1997 - 1934 S.S Monowai in a Gale Oil on board 49.0 x 74.0 Signed & inscribed more info... In October 1939 the 10,852 ton Monowai was converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) after initially serving in the South Pacific as a convoy escort. She was attacked by gunfire from a Japanese submarine off Fiji in January 1942 but escaped undamaged. In February 1944 she was converted to a Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) making voyages to Port Said and Italy. From there she went to the Solent to be prepared for the Normandy Landings where she carried 30,000 troops across to France, making a remarkable 20 voyages to the beaches. From November 1944 to March 1945 the S S Monowai carried a further 43,000 troops between Southampton and Le Havre, spending the rest of the war years repatriating prisoners of war to Australasian shores. In 1946 she was refitted in Sydney and returned to service in 1949. In 1960 she was scrapped in Hong Kong.

112. Frank Barnes 1859 - 1941 - T.E.V. Rangatira off Pencarrow, Wellington Oil on board 40.0 x 71.0 Signed & inscribed more info... T. E. V. Rangatira 1930 - 1967 Rangatira was an innovative design for her time and spawned a number of siblings, not the least being her subsequent running mate Hinemoa. With a 55 year career, the slightly smaller Taroona was built for a partnership of the Union Steam Ship Company and the Huddart Parker line in 1935. She served in the Melbourne to Hobart service until 1959 and her second career as the Greek cruise liner Hellas ended in a Turkish breaker's yard in 1990. Her record for the fastest passage for the 175 mile (280 km) voyage from Wellington to Lyttelton remains unbroken.

Frank Barnes 1859 - 1941 T.S.S. Wahine off the Kaikouras in Heavy Weather Oil on board 38.0 x 51.0 Signed & inscribed more info... TSS Wahine was an inter-island ferry that ran between Lyttelton and Wellington, New Zealand. It was used as a minelayer in the first world war, and saw active service as a troop ship during World War II.