SS United States - The Curious Case of the Castrated Bull - Part II
By Mark B. Perry (Screenwriter & Novelist)
There was no picture to accompany the Swann listing, just this tantalizing description:
419 • (UNITED STATES LINES.) United States. Small piece of a larger aluminum wall decoration designed by Purvis [sic]. Rather phallic looking piece of aluminum which was at one time a part of a much larger wall sculpture or decoration, 5×9 inches greatest dimensions: on a wooden mount with the label “Presented to the High Potentate of K. the B.B.” On the back of the mount is a note in Braynard’s hand certifying that the piece was from the United States. The aluminum piece has come loose from the mount, but can be easily reattached. Nd [250/350]
I remembered reading about such an item in Braynard’s be-all and end-all book, The Big Ship: The Story of the SS United States, and had pondered its whereabouts. And lo and behold, here it was, this “rather phallic” bit of metal had to be the subject of this paragraph from page 97:
"One of the many well-known artists employed to decorate “the Big Ship” was Seymour Lipton. He did many of the aluminum sculptures that provided a continuity of décor in the ship’s foyers and public spaces. In the Tourist Dining Saloon one of his works featured a bull. The bull had a most obvious male organ and, on the first trial trip, this caught the eye of the somewhat sedate New York Times ship news editor George Fox Horne. George, possibly in a casual moment, questioned the taste of the decoration. His comment was taken quite seriously by a number of people and the shipyard’s public relations director Bob Hopkins found himself in the center of a growing storm. The matter went all the way up to William Francis Gibbs. Some weeks later in his third floor office at 229 West 43rd Steet, Mr. Horne was surprised to receive a large package from Newport News. Opening it he found the offending male member affixed to a polished plaque, a gift from the shipyard. The bull had been, in effect, castrated. This emasculation brought a storm of protest from artist Lipton, who objected most strenuously to his work being altered. Years later when he retired to move back to Oklahoma, George gave the plaque to me. Still more years later I loaned it to friends in the American Bureau of Shipping to be copied as a farewell “joke” retirement present for their Ralph Christiansen. Mr. Christiansen had been most active for the ABS in connection with the building of the United States."
Now notice Braynard’s book credits artist Seymour Lipton with the sculpture and the outrage over the crime committed against his art, while Swann attributes it to Austin Purves (and misspelled his name). This could be chalked up to a clerical error on the part of Swann Galleries. Whoever the artist, the estimated hammer price was between $250 and $350, but while bidding over the phone, I got swept into a heart-pounding competitive frenzy and ended up paying more than I wish to confess. When the package arrived from New York and I saw my purchase for the first time, I realized it was not “rather phallic” but “100% phallic” with all the—ahem—equipment in place. It was definitely the piece Braynard had written about. I’m still baffled by the words “PRESENTED TO THE HIGH POTENTATE OF K. THE B.B.” If anyone has any idea what that means, do let me know! I’ve pixelated the image in the interest of internet decorum:
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