The Custom House at Greenock, Scotland

1828

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.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: The Custom House at Greenock, Scotland
Artist: Robert Salmon (1755–ca. 1844)
Date: 1828
Culture: American
Medium: Oil on wood
Dimensions: 16 1/2 x 25 5/8 in. (41.9 x 65.1 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Koenigsberg, 1979,
Gift of Lisa Koenigsberg, in memory of Harry L. Koenigsberg, 2004
Object Number: 1979.488
Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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