WINDSOR, CONN. — A painting that was originally cataloged as an unsigned oval oil on canvas painting of the three-masted American sailing vessel Spiridion traveled leagues beyond its $4/8,000 presale estimate at Nadeau’s auction on October 15 to finish at $22,800, including buyer’s premium. “We were finally able to determine the artist a couple of days before the auction,” said Ed Nadeau Jr, the firm’s president. Painted by William Gay Yorke (1817-1892), the Spiridion is shown off Liverpool, circa 1860. The nearly imperceptible artist’s signature — “Wm Yorke L. Pool” — was discovered on the bottom center of the 28-by-38½-inch canvas. A Captain William Jordan Class 1 vessel, the Spiridion, was a white oak wood vessel, 18 feet by 3 inches by 32 feet 6 inches by 21 feet 6 inches, 1,148 tons with two decks and a 21-foot draft. It was built in 1859 by R& JW Jacobs, Maine.

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