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Fishing Boats with Hucksters Bargaining for Fish

Large marine landscape of boats on rough waves, storm clouds.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Large marine landscape of boats on rough waves, storm clouds.

Date:

1837/38

Artist:

Joseph Mallord William Turner
English, 1775-1851

About this artwork

In this massive painting, celebrated British landscape artist Joseph Mallord William Turner pursued a theme of longstanding interest to him: the sea. On the left, a large fishing vessel engages in business with a huckster, or peddler, who stands in a small boat in the shadows to the right, gesturing with a raised arm. Both the subject and low horizon draw on the tradition of 17th-century Dutch marine painting, but the work also reflects Turner’s growing interest in dramatic effects of atmosphere and light. In the distance, the artist included a steam-driven vessel trailing a plume of dark smoke, which alludes to the arrival of a new, modern era at sea.

Status

On View, Gallery 220

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner

Title

Fishing Boats with Hucksters Bargaining for Fish

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1832–1842

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Inscribed on top flag of nearest boat: J.M.W. Turner

Dimensions

174.5 × 224.9 cm (68 3/4 × 88 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Kimball Collection

Reference Number

1922.4472

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/4796/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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