Artwork
Boats at Cape May
Boats at Cape May is an unspecified painting by the American Impressionist artist Xanthus Russell Smith. It dates from 1873 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a maritime scene featuring boats situated at Cape May. Created by Xanthus Russell Smith in 1873, the work focuses on the presence of vessels within this specific coastal location. The subject matter is straightforward, centering on the boats themselves as the primary visual element of the composition.
Technique & Style
Boats at Cape May is an oil painting executed by Xanthus Russell Smith in 1873. The work is classified as a painting and serves as the primary medium for this depiction of boats. It is presented on a support measuring 23.2 cm in height and 30.5 cm in width. The composition focuses on maritime subjects, specifically capturing boats at the Cape May location.
History & Provenance
No additional details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history are documented in the available sources.
Boats at Cape May is a painting created by Xanthus Russell Smith in 1873. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains located. No additional details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history are documented in the available sources.
Boats at Cape May is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was accessioned into the museum's collection in 1982 under inventory number 1982.379. The work has been exhibited in the museum's American Paintings galleries and was part of the 1984 exhibition "American Watercolors and Drawings, 1800-1900" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Context
Boats at Cape May (1873) by Xanthus Russell Smith exemplifies late 19th-century American marine painting, depicting a vessel in a coastal setting characteristic of the era's fascination with maritime activity and natural scenery. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, reflecting its institutional recognition and scholarly attention within studies of American art movements.
Critical reception and scholarship on the painting are closely tied to its creator's broader artistic legacy and the work's contextual significance within 19th-century American art, particularly in relation to contemporaries like Fitz Hugh Lane and the Luminist movement's emphasis on light and atmospheric detail.
The painting's depiction of coastal life and maritime subjects situates it within the artist's wider oeuvre focused on seascapes and nautical themes, contributing to ongoing discussions about American realism and regional artistic identity in the post-Civil War period.
Overview
Created in 1873 by American marine artist Xanthus Russell Smith, Boats at Cape May is an oil painting that captures a tranquil coastal tableau. The work exemplifies the American Impressionist tendency toward atmospheric light and color, and it is part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Xanthus Russell Smith (February 26, 1839, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – December 2, 1929, Glenside, Pennsylvania) was an American marine painter best known for his illustrations of the American Civil War.
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