Edward Ardizzone, The Great Sail (orig. untitled), Prints by Bookroom Art Press

Description:

Watercolour and ink. Text and illustration from Ardizzone’s classic picture book Tim’s Last Voyage, 1972.

‘On the fourth day out a terrible thing happened. A great wave dashed over the side and washed the funnel overboard. Water poured into the engine room. The engines stopped and the Arabella rolled like a dead thing in a waste of waters……’.

So unfolds the story of the small steamer, the rusty red-funnelled Arabella.

The print depicts Joey Adze, the kind-hearted ship’s carpenter, stitching a great sail to provide wind power for the disabled vessel. Tim reads Moby Dick, story of a great white whale, to make them both feel happier.