# James Edward Buttersworth artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/james-edward-buttersworth/
Profile generated: 2026-05-10T14:55:12.157Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Death date: 1894-03-02
- Nationality: British, American
- Movements: 19th-century American maritime painting
- Common media: oil on canvas

## About James Edward Buttersworth

James Edward Buttersworth (1817–1894) was a British-born maritime painter who became one of the most celebrated ship portraitists working in the United States during the nineteenth century. Born on the Isle of Wight, England, he was the son and pupil of Thomas Buttersworth, a well-known Royal Navy marine painter. James Edward emigrated to the United States, settling in West Hoboken, New Jersey, where he produced a large body of work documenting the sailing vessels, racing yachts, and naval ships of his era. His paintings are recognized for their precise rigging detail, dramatic sea and sky compositions, and the sense of graceful motion he brought to each vessel. With over four hundred works documented in auction records, Buttersworth remains a significant figure in American maritime art, and his paintings are held in major museum and private collections.

## Common works and media

Buttersworth worked primarily in oil on canvas. His most commonly encountered works depict individual ship portraits, yacht racing scenes (particularly America's Cup matches), naval vessels under sail, coastal harbor views, and multi-ship compositions showing racing or shipping activity. He also produced a smaller number of landscape and portrait paintings. Works range from small cabinet-sized panels to large exhibition-scale canvases. Prints and reproductions of his paintings also circulate in the market.

## Market and appraisal context

Buttersworth's works appear regularly at major auction houses, with over four hundred documented lots spanning oil paintings of sailing ships, yacht races, and naval engagements. Valuation depends heavily on subject identification—scenes depicting famous America's Cup contenders or well-known vessels tend to attract the strongest interest—as well as canvas size, condition, and the level of compositional detail. Distinguishing his hand from that of his father Thomas Buttersworth is a common attribution challenge that can affect value. Collectors should seek clear provenance and, when possible, expert authentication, as the shared subject matter between father and son creates ongoing connoisseurship questions in the market.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files and scholarly sources with documented auction records, sale dates, realized prices, comparable lots, and auction-house context when those records are available. For James Edward Buttersworth, identity data is grounded in the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr91039966
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500016424
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/27876601/
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/14508
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q257895
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Buttersworth