Ship in Storm
Robert Salmon
(English, 1775–1845 or after (active in the United States 1828–42))
1828
Medium/TechniqueOil on board
Dimensions36.19 x 50.48 cm (14 1/4 x 19 7/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of the Nathaniel T. Dexter Fine Arts Trust
Accession number2000.688
On View
On viewClassificationsPaintings
DescriptionSalmon painted this theatrical seascape in 1828 when he immigrated to the United States from England. Under a dramatic sky the distressed ship flounders in the strong waves and is in imminent danger of crashing into the rocks. The figures in the foreground are powerless in the face of nature's fury. The theme of ships in danger was common in the seventeenth-century Dutch painting and could symbolize the precariousness of life's journey.
InscriptionsNo 600/Painted by/Robert salmon/1828ProvenanceThe artist; Nathaniel T. Dexter; to MFA, 2000, gift of the Nathaniel T. Dexter Fine Arts Trust.
