Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has opened the Ernest Haas Collection to the public online. With 31 paintings and numerous sketches, the Ernest Haas Collection contains high-quality paintings of well-known historical events like “The Last Gunboat” (depicting the sunken Revolutionary War gunboat Spitfire) and “Phoenix Sinking” (depicting that fateful night in September 1819 which ended in the destruction of one of the lake’s early steamboats).
The collection also includes landscape scenes such as “Hardscrabble Farm” and “Winter Chores,” painted during the later years of Haas’ prolific career.
Haas uses old photographs and historic records to inspire his artistic process. Paintings in the collection feature maritime scenes from the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the canalboat and steamboat eras of the 19th and 20th centuries on Lake Champlain, as well as landscapes from throughout New England.
“Phoenix Sinking,” shown above, depicts the 1819 fire that destroyed the Phoenix steamboat. The Phoenix was the second commercial steamboat to be used in Lake Champlain, traveling between New York and Quebec, among other ports.
While the ultimate cause is debated, the fire that broke out on the night of September 4, 1819 was discovered too late to be extinguished in time to save the ship. Many of the ship’s passengers and crew were able to escape the blaze by two small rowboats.
The rushed escape unfortunately left a dozen people (including the captain) behind on a rapidly sinking ship. Only Captain Sherman and five others were able to be saved the following morning.
In addition to original artwork and prints, Haas donated two boxes of research and reference materials used in the development of his Lake Champlain-related paintings. While not online, these notes are linked to the collection.
When it was announced in September 2023 that Haas (known by many as “Ernie”) would be donating a portion of his original works to the Museum, executive director Chris Sabick said of the artist, “Ernie’s talent for capturing the beauty, action, and vibrance of some of the most important moments in Lake Champlain’s history is amazing, especially those moments which don’t have any surviving contemporary illustration,” and that, “for our visitors, experiencing Ernie’s art transports them back in time to the moments we interpret here at the museum, and makes our work of teaching maritime history that much more powerful.”
You can read more about the donation of Haas’ collection here.
You can see the collection online here.
Ernest Hass’s “Phoenix Sinking” (courtesy Lake Champlain Maritime Museum).
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