United States Barge Office
c. 1850
Marie-François-Régis Gignoux (1814 -1882)
Oil on canvas, 26 3/4 X21 3/4
Gift of Maurice M. O. Purdy in memory of his wife, Alice-Jean Purdy, 70.3

The picturesque United States Barge Office on the wooded shore at the southeast corner of Battery Park served from about 1830 to 1880 as offices and short-term residences for customs officials. It also overlooked the dock for the flat-bottomed barges that agents dispatched to inspect incoming ships before allowing them to berth. The wooden pilings visible in the right foreground mark the Staten Island Ferry terminal (a new terminal now stands where the barge office was). In the far-left center background is Castle Clinton, built to protect New York Harbor from British invasion during the War of 1812, a function never required.¹ The U.S. Customs flag flying from the barge office cupola indicates that an inspector is on duty. Because of the uncertainty of ships' arrival times, the barge office was staffed around the clock. The laundry drying on the roof probably belongs to an officer on duty.

In 1880 the barge office depicted here was torn down to make way for a more commodious building to accommodate the expanded customs inspection staff needed to serve the Port of New York, which by that time was handling more than half the national value of all export and import commerce. Room for this larger structure was created by the expansion of the Battery as landfill taken from Manhattan construction sites was deposited offshore. In 1907 the U.S. Customs Service relocated to a new Beaux Arts facility designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert, where it remained until its 1974 move to the World Trade Center.

Régis Gignoux, to use the shortened name preferred by the artist, was born in Lyons and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Immigrating to the United States in 1840, Gignoux settled in Brooklyn. His interest in landscape painting grew through his friendship with Robert Weir, a drawing instructor and painter of the Hudson River School. Drawn into the New York art world, Gignoux exhibited extensively, gained election to the National Academy of Design, and taught private students, including George Innes. Among Gignoux's most famous works are landscapes painted on travels through the mountain ranges of New York, the coast of Maine, and other wilderness areas in North America. In 1869 Gignoux returned to his native France, where he continued to exhibit until his death in 1882.

Notes:

  1  In 1823 Castle Clinton was given to the city and was converted into an entertainment center, known as Castle Garden, until the city reclaimed it to serve as an immigration center from 1855 to 1890. The original Castle Clinton was probably designed by John McComb, Jr., the architect of City Hall and several elegant private homes, and Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams, who proposed the ring of forts that protected the harbor and for whom the fort on Governors Island is named.