Object Image

Rockets and Blue Lights (Close at Hand) to Warn Steamboats of Shoal Water

In many of his late paintings, Turner used vigorous brushstrokes and loosely defined forms to explore dramatic struggles between human beings and the elements. This work shows a storm raging in an English harbor town. Flares explode in the sky to alert ships to the location of shallow (shoal) water. On the shore huddled spectators stare out to sea, perhaps anxiously hoping their loved ones will survive the storm and return safely home.

Credit: Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955...

1840
Oil on canvas
36.2 x 48.1in
1955.37
Image and text: The Clark Art Institute, 2024

Where you'll find this

The Clark
Permanent collection