This painting shows a seascape with sailboats and ships on the water. On the left is a small boat with its sails tied and several people aboard. A larger ship with unfurled sails and an American flag is in the center. On the right is the tallest sailing ship, with billowing white sails and a red-and-white flag atop its masts. There are more boats visible in the distance to the left and right, and they all have people faintly visible on their decks. The horizon is low against the sky, revealing a distant shoreline with buildings and trees on the left. The color palette is warm and muted, with soft browns, creams, and grays dominating the scene. The ocean below is a gray-green color with small waves, and the sky above is cloudy and gray.
Read the visual description

This painting shows a seascape with sailboats and ships on the water. On the left is a small boat with its sails tied and several people aboard. A larger ship with unfurled sails and an American flag is in the center. On the right is the tallest sailing ship, with billowing white sails and a red-and-white flag atop its masts. There are more boats visible in the distance to the left and right, and they all have people faintly visible on their decks. The horizon is low against the sky, revealing a distant shoreline with buildings and trees on the left. The color palette is warm and muted, with soft browns, creams, and grays dominating the scene. The ocean below is a gray-green color with small waves, and the sky above is cloudy and gray.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Boston Harbor

Robert Salmon

Date
1843
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
overall: 42.07 × 61.6 cm (16 9/16 × 24 1/4 in.) framed: 59.69 × 79.38 × 5.08 cm (23 1/2 × 31 1/4 × 2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
2015.19.77
Credit line
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase and exchange, through the gift of Orme Wilson, 1955)
Time span
1826 to 1850
Department
CAB

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • American
  • Acquired after publication of American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II [M-Z]
  • ship
  • Boston Harbor
  • landscape
Provenance

Private collection; sold March 1955 through (Victor D. Spark, New York) to the Corcoran Gallery of Art; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription

reverse: R.S.A.T. / by R. Salmon [obscured] / 1843 / 1837 [crossed out]

NGA object ID 177986. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.