Best Paintings of The Sea by Famous Artists

                     SEA FEVER  by John  Masefield


                     I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
                    And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
                    And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
                    And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

Artists have painted the sea to show the enjoyment of it all, the dangers ,ancient story telling, movement from one place to another and nostalgia. I have not mentioned merchant vessels or battles in this blog. I will look at these another time.

• The joy of sailing is embodied in this painting by Winslow Homer.The boys are having an adventure taking their little boat out to sea alone.I wonder how many parents would let their children test themselves like this today.

Breezing Up a Fair Wind,Winslow Homer

                                                       

•   Stories and legends about the sea are a source of inspiration to artists.The beautiful girls known as sirens whose irrestible voices lured sailors to their deaths on the rocks have been painted here by the Victorian artist Waterhouse. The rocks  the sirens are said to inhabit are off the coast of Sorrento in Italy. I have been there many times but never seen a siren.

                                                       

The Sirens, Waterhouse

•  Fishing has inspired many artists .One of my favourites is the fisherman artist Alfred Wallis who had no art training,  little money for materials and painted in a charming, naive style the boats around his village in Cornwall.

                                                           

Five Fishing Boats, Arther Wallis

                                                          

The light and colours  of the sea were favourite subjects of Impressionist artists.Here the romance of fishing boats with sails are set against the changing times with a steam powered ship.

                                                              

Fishing Boats Coming In Before The Wind,Manet

                  

• Oceans that have to be crossed as a means of reaching a new life have been painted as emotional emigrants leave their homeland and set out for another world.Hardship onboard and surviving the terror of storms on the high seas are illustrated in these prints.

                                                                                                

• The relief of seeing land after many weeks at sea after a slow journey on a sailing ship is felt in this much loved painting by Montague Dawson.

                                                                                                

Land Ho ,Montague Dawson

• Rescue at sea is often carried out by  Life Boatmen who volunteer to rescue ships in trouble at sea.Some seaside towns in the U.K. give demonstrations on the beaches that are open to the public.Aldeburgh in Suffolk is one village that does this.

                                                         

The Lifeboat,W.L.Wylie,1873

•  The sea has become the playground of the super -rich especially around the resorts of Monte Carlo,Nice and the Greek islands and Florida where magnificent yachts worth billions of dollars can be seen in the harbours.The less affluent can travel the world on the enormous luxury  cruise liners that can be seen in tourist harbours around the world.

                                                              

Ground-Swell,Edward Hopper