Fred Pansing

1844-1912

American (Hoboken, New Jersey; New York, New York)

Born in Bremen, Germany, Pansing became a sailor at age 16. After five years at sea, he settled in Hoboken, New Jersey establishing himself as a marine painter and portraitist in 1865. He worked in New York City as an artist illustrating sheet music and painting names on steamboats. In the late 1890's, Pansing worked for American Lithography in Jersey City, publishing chromolithographs.

Pansing is best known for painting steamships for prestigious ocean lines with regular commissions from Cunard and White Star Lines. His paintings were reproduced in posters, promotional materials aboard ships and in ticket offices, postcards, and puzzles for transatlantic passengers' souvenirs.