These two paintings were done by Caroline B. Rose, the wife of Captain Jetur R. Rose. Known as the “Belle of Southampton” before her marriage to Captain Jetur Rose, Caroline “Caddy” Benedict, was well admired. When she chose to join her husband on not one but three of his whaling voyages between 1853 and 1871 and to endure the dangers and cultural deprivations of life at sea, many questioned her judgment. In time, the skeptics were obliged to admit that Caddy was able to thrive on shipboard. After being set ashore in Hawaii to give birth, she rejoined the ship and took full charge of daughter Emma’s upbringing, much to the horror of the Hawaiian missionaries who warned that “no one on a whaler ever knew anything.” Again, the critics were wrong. Under Caroline’s tutelage, Emma developed the same admirable qualities that he mother possessed.
It was while out at sea alongside Jetur that she crafted these two pieces. They were done on board the Whaleship Trident on a voyage through the Polar Sea in July 1867.