Catalog entry

Commentary

Lane painted two quite similar versions of this subject, though each tells a very different story. His student Mary Mellen painted at least three additional copies that we know of. There was clearly a high demand for this scene, for reasons we do not specifically know. This version, A Rough Sea, was commissioned in 1854 by Obadiah Woodbury, a Gloucester ship captain in the Surinam trade, and, based on the dates, it is the original.

The ship depicted in A Rough Sea is at anchor with its sails furled, pitching on the waves but still secured by the two anchor chains coming from its hawseholes. It has apparently weathered a storm, the anchors have held, and the sun is now breaking through the clouds. It is a scene of optimism and relief.  The second version, A Storm Breaking Away, Vessel Slipping Her Cable, 1858 (inv. 59) (in a private collection), tells the opposite story. Based on the title, the vessel is breaking away and will likely land on the rocks, though the cable is still intact in the painting.

Had the anchors slipped, the ship would have been dashed on the rocks where the lighthouse stands, and judging by the size of the waves, all hands would have been lost. This may explain why the painting appealed to the people of Gloucester, as it would to any coastal population. Every year, particularly in Gloucester, there were enormous losses of life and of ships due to storms. To have a painting on one's wall that showed the anchors holding, the storm clearing, and the ship and all hands surviving may have been a comforting and inspirational sight, a positive image in a world of what must have been constant worry in every mariner’s household.

A Rough Sea is a fairly typical composition, though somewhat empty for Lane: just one vessel pitching on a wave with the ship's angle of heel setting its masts at a diagonal. The scene is framed by the large wave shadows on the left and right that lead the eye to the golden sun as it breaks through the clouds near the horizon. A tall, unidentified lighthouse is visible on the distant shore. A storm appears to have cleared off, leaving a huge sea rocking the ship. To emphasize the drama of the moment, Lane has used the deep green of the sea and the brilliant oranges of the sun lighting up the clouds. 

The copies by Mellen of A Rough Sea are good examples of the differences between teacher and student. While Lane has emphasized the oranges and yellows in the sky, Mellen’s sky colors are much more exaggerated—nearly lurid in these examples. The waves are also more exaggerated, almost plastic in form. It is possible that teacher and student collaborated on some of these copies, as was traditional in the studio model, with Lane painting the ship and rigging while Mellen did the sea and sky.

– Sam Holdsworth

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