Whaler off the Vineyard – Outward Bound

William Bradford, Whaler off the Vineyard--Outward Bound, 1859, oil on fiberboard, 16 x 24 in. (40.7 x 61.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1978.72

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Artwork Details

Title: Whaler off the Vineyard – Outward Bound
Artist: William Bradford
Date: 1859
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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10A
Dimensions: 16 x 24 in. (40.7 x 61.0 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on fiberboard
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Occupation — industry — fishing
Travel — water — boat
Waterscape — sea — Atlantic Ocean
Architecture — boat — sailing ship
Landscape — Massachusetts — Martha’s Vineyard
Object Number: 1978.72
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.72

Artwork Description

William Bradford is best known for his paintings of the Arctic, but his early work focused on the ships of New England. He grew up near New Bedford, Massachusetts, which was home to a successful whaling industry. In this image, he painted a large whaling ship with a smaller schooner sailing in the foreground, and the cliffs of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, in the background. This area was the standard route for whalers entering and leaving the port of New Bedford. Bradford emphasized the smallest details in this sweeping seascape, from the ripples in the sails to the suspenders on the sailors.