Liverpool artwork of the week 12 – Crowds at launch of Mauretania II at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, 1938 by Stewart Bale showing in ‘Metropolis: capturing modern Liverpool’ at National Conservation Centre, Liverpool 21 March to 10 August 2008
Liverpool’s emergence as a modern city is on display in this exhibition of stunning photographs from the collection of Stewart Bale Ltd, a local family run photographic practice.
Spanning a period of great change in the city from the 1930s to the 1970s, these photographs were taken to celebrate, promote and record great events, landmark buildings, cutting edge developments and city life.
Monumental in scale and beautifully composed, the photographs reflect a Victorian city embracing modernity and the industrial 20th century. They are of particular resonance during Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year, a time of massive regeneration.
Mauretania II at her launch. Launches at Cammell Laird’s during this time drew immense crowds to witness the spectacle of these massive constructions first entering the water. Mauretania’s maiden voyage was from Liverpool to New York in 1939. The vessel served as a troop ship during World War II and continued in service until 1965.
