Riding out a Gale
ca. 1889
Edward Moran’s 'Riding out a Gale' throws us right into the churning, dark green waves of a fierce ocean storm. Three sailors huddle in their small, tilting sailboat, bracing themselves against the wind while seagulls desperately circle the gloomy sky above. Painted around 1889 in the Realist style, it captures the raw, unglamorous struggle of man against nature without any romanticized heroism. You can almost feel the cold spray and the terrifying pitch of the deck just by looking at the tense postures of the crew.