Fitz Henry LaneAmerican, 1804–1865Gloucester Harbor at Sunset
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Gloucester Harbor at Sunset” now? Harvard Art Museums, Gallery 2100, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, Cambridge. Yes, on view now. Checked October 12, 2026.
Cambridge, United States
Room2100, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
“I become a transparent eye-ball . . . I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (1836)
Lane’s late-career maritime compositions are taut, harmonious orchestrations. Minute details, a low horizon, repetitive orthogonal and vertical forms, and a luminous atmosphere structure these unequalled scenes where water and sky meet in a meticulous, almost sublime accord of reflected color.
In this emblematic image, the setting sun illuminates the waters off Ten Pound Island in Gloucester Harbor. At mid-century, the village of Gloucester served as the busiest port of exchange for New England’s fishing and logging industries. Two fishing vessels, or “pinkies,” maneuver around a bark and a schooner anchored in what locals call the “Pancake Ground” (calm, shallow seabed).
Read on
Much is still uncertain about Lane’s life. However, we know Lane worked as a shoemaker and lithographer before painting scenes expressive of an Emersonian view of witness.
Harvard Art Museums
Details
- Accession number
- TL41275
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © Image courtesy of the Harvard Business School; President and Fellows of Harvard College
