Sunrise over Fishing Waters--Maineca. 1880
William E. Norton lived in Boston but spent a great deal of time painting on the coast of Maine. More about this work
About this work
William E. Norton lived in Boston but spent a great deal of time painting on the coast of Maine. He preferred to work outdoors and probably painted Sunrise over Fishing Waters—Maine during one of his summer trips to the coast. Rather than paint every detail, Norton used delicate dabs of paint to quickly capture the overall scene like the sun's reflection in the water, the breaking waves, and the small sails off in the distance.
Text from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
How it was made
- Oil on panel
- Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- 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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1982.1.32
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
