RMS AQUITANIA

Artist James A. Flood

Built by John Brown and Co., Ltd., the RMS Aquitania took her maiden voyage from Liverpool on May 30, 1914. She was 901 feet long and 97 feet wide, with a service speed of 23 knots, and was designed to carry 3,230 passengers. This last four-tunnel liner was ornate in her decor, with design periods ranging from Charles II to Louis XVI. First class staterooms brandished elegant furniture and British art reproductions, while her famous Palladian Lounge displayed a huge eighteenth century Dutch master oil painting on its ceiling.

Built for Cunard Line, the RMS Aquitania serviced Southampton- New York. She was commissioned in World War I as an auxiliary cruiser and then as a troopship, carrying over 30,000 troops in a three-month period. She also served as a troopship in World War II, making her the only Cunard ship to serve in both world wars. When not at war, she resumed her transatlantic services. In the end, she logged over 3 million miles and 1.2 million passengers in her lifetime. Although she was sold for scrap in 1950, the process was not completed until November of 1951.

In the painting, this magnificent four-tunnel liner is depicted approaching New York in 1924.