Ullstrom, J :The Pacific Trading Post, [Apia, Samoa, painted from] S. S. Westfalia 1888.

View from the sea of a cluster of white buildings, two built on piles in the water, with two red flags flying. There is a background of palm trees. A small lagoon is in front of the buildings, a blue canoe is being rowed by about 20 people on the right and there is a small steamboat on the left. The open sea is visible on the left.

The name of the artist and the name of the ship suggest that the artist may have been German. However the title written on the back of the work is in English. The S. S. Westfalia was built in Glasgow and was an British-owned ship. Ullstrom can also be a Swedish name. The Pacific Trading Post itself was established in 1860 by a German firm, J C Godeffroy & Co, and Samoa was a German colony at the date of this painting.

The Pacific Trading Post was on the eastern side of Apia Harbour. The building later became the Tivoli Hotel.

The S. S. Westfalia, built in Glasgow in 1882, was a British vessel, wrecked in the Bay of Biscay near the Spanish coast in 1889.

Exhibited 'Va'aomanu' exhibition celebrating the history and culture of Samoa, based on the collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library, held in the National Library Gallery, 1 March to 28 June 1998.

Inscriptions: Recto - bottom right - J.Ullstrom / S. S. Westfalia / 1888 (in brushpoint).; Backing board recto - The Pacific Trading Post. 75 /- [i.e. shillings] 1974. Also auctioneer's and former owner's label.

Quantity: 1 oil(s).

Physical Description: Oil on board, 205 x 383 mm.

Provenance: Inscriptions on the verso suggest Dr Hogg brought the painting in 1974 for 75 shillings, perhaps from a British source.