Waves surge up the sides of a masted ship illuminated by moonlight in this horizontal painting. The bow is angled to our right, and a wave breaks onto the deck as the ship tips away from us. Two of the frigate’s masts are broken close to the deck so nothing of the sails remain, and only the lowest sail near the ship’s bow remains beneath a partially broken mast. The bowsprit, which angles up and diagonally off the bow, is also fragmented. Men pull on rigging or stand the gunwale at the edge of the deck. Other waves heave like mountains across the painting in shades of slate and gunmetal…
Gallery mode Full size at the museum

Window mode follows your eyes with your camera, in this browser only: no picture or position leaves your device.

Storm-Tossed Frigate

Thomas Chambers (American, 1808 - 1866 or after)

mid 19th century

Medium
oil on canvas
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 54.4 x 77.2 cm (21 7/16 x 30 3/8 in.) ; framed: 66 x 87.6 x 5.7 cm (26 x 34 1/2 x 2 1/4 in.)
Culture
American
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

More by Thomas Chambers

See all

More like this

See all