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Shipwreck near a Rocky Coast
Thomas Birch (American, born England, 1779–1851)
1833
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 51.4 × 76.8 cm (20 1/4 × 30 1/4 in.)
- Culture
- United States
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Gift of the family of Richard H. Daniel
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Based in Philadelphia, Thomas Birch was a leading marine painter who helped establish the genre in early 19th-century America. Shipwreck near a Rocky Coast is a romantic, imaginative composition that highlights human struggle against the forces of nature: the ship’s sails are torn, its masts lean to one side, and a tiny group of seafarers attempts to flee the disaster. Birch rendered the scene in dramatic detail, yet left the narrative unresolved.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
