The Custom House at Greenock, Scotland

Robert Salmon American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774

One of America's earliest marine painters, Salmon worked for many years in his native Britain before immigrating to Boston in 1828, where he exhibited regularly until 1844. Painted probably just after Salmon's arrival in America, this composition pits a rising tempest—conveyed in the cyclonic cloud formation, the eerie light, and the tilting ships—against the fastness of architect William Burn's Doric-style Custom House, built in 1818. The artist lived in Greenock--Scotland's oldest and most important shipbuilding city--from 1812 to 1821.

The Custom House at Greenock, Scotland, Robert Salmon (1755–ca. 1844), Oil on wood, American

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.