Every once in a while I find a piece that feels especially significant, and this is one of them.
“Sailing off the Rocky Coast,” an original oil on canvas by Swedish-American marine painter Theodor Victor Carl Valenkamph (1868–1924).
Born in Stockholm, Valenkamph served for eight years in the Swedish Navy, where he had the opportunity to study ships, the movement of the sea and changing weather firsthand. He later immigrated to the United States, settling in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and became known for his remarkably atmospheric marine paintings. He was a member of the Boston Art Club and exhibited there in the early 1900s.
This particular work is such a beautiful example of what drew me to his paintings. The composition is dominated by the force of the water itself: waves breaking against an enormous rocky outcropping, sea spray catching the light, and gulls suspended above it all. Up close, the texture is incredible, with thick, almost sculptural passages of paint giving the breaking waves a real sense of movement.
Signed T.V.C. Valenkamph at lower right and presented in its warm gilt and dark wood frame.
24” H x 27.5” W framed Sight: approximately 19.8” H x 23.5” W
