# Fishing Boats with Hucksters Bargaining for Fish

**Joseph Mallord William Turner** (English, 1775–1851)  
1837–38  
Oil on canvas  
174.5 × 224.9 cm (68 3/4 × 88 1/2 in.); Framed: 216.6 × 268 cm (85 1/4 × 105 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.4472. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/4796).

## About this work

Fishing boats pitch on rough water under a sky of piled storm cloud, while hucksters, the dealers who bought the catch at sea, bargain with the fishermen. Turner exhibited this large canvas at the Royal Academy in 1838, and it belongs to a long line of sea pictures in which he measured himself against the Dutch marine painters of the seventeenth century while going far beyond them in the drama of light and weather. The churning waves and light breaking through the clouds are painted with characteristic freedom.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Joseph Mallord William Turner painted this in 1837–38, aged about 57. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

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

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Joseph Mallord William Turner](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/joseph-mallord-william-turner)

English, 1775–1851; born in London; died in London

Turner, a London barber’s son, entered the Royal Academy Schools at fourteen and was elected a full Academician at twenty-six. Travelling constantly in Britain and on the Continent, he filled hundreds of sketchbooks and made thousands of watercolours. His oils moved from classical landscapes in the manner of Claude towards vortices of light, steam and weather, as in The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, a fire he witnessed in 1834. He left most of his work to the nation.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: England
- The artist was about 57
- Real size: about 69 × 88 in (174 × 224 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: fishing, men, figures, weather/seasons, clouds, sky, sails, boatman
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/9.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/9/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/fishing-boats-with-hucksters-bargaining-for-fish-aic-4796).