Fitz Henry Lane(1804 - 1865) was a leading marine painter of the mid - 19th Century. A great draftsman who could render a ship's portrayal in such detail with rigging as well as anyone in his day. Also, he was masterful at capturing the late day sun whether a ship was docked for the night or the setting sun cast across the harbor and distant landscape.
These are the qualities I think of when someone mentions the name - Fitz Henry Lane. Last week at the Portland Museum of Art, in Portland, Maine, one of his paintings on exhibit drew my attention. His painting: Annisquam Marshes, Near Gloucester Massachusetts, 1848(oil on canvas), has this warm glow of light toward the horizon with a river zig-zagging and meandering through the salt marches. This line of movement draws your eye deep into the picture.
I found this composition and Lane's mastery of color so captivating I studied it later in the week when I visited the museum a second time. Ironically, there are no ship's portrayed in this painting which was his trademark.
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