SHIP SALUTING AT THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA

Depicting a ship saluting St. Helena, the island where Napoleon was exiled, surrounded by stylized waves and dramatic lighting, the present work exhibits the characteristics of artist Thomas Chambers. A very similar work depicting the same subject by Chambers is illustrated in Kathleen A. Foster, Thomas Chambers: American Marine Landscape Painter, 1808-1869 (New Haven, 2008), p. 71. fig. 3-32 and another sold Christie’s, New York, 20 January 2023, lot 461. These works are both decorative and symbolic, and Chambers likely painted them to appeal to the interest in America surrounding Napoleon and the events of his life.