Arctic Seascape

The present work was likely painted around 1869, when William Bradford embarked on his seventh and final expedition to the Arctic, which he commemorated in his travelogue, The Arctic Regions: Illustrated with Photographs Taken on an Art Expedition to Greenland. Of the scenery, the artist wrote: "the deep blue of an Arctic sky was reflected in the water so strangely flecked with indescribably icy forms. None of the bergs were very large, but no two were alike...as some lofty berg passed between us and the sun, its crest would be bordered with an orange-colored halo, in which sometimes prismatic shades appeared." (as quoted in R.C. Kugler, William Bradford: Sailing Ships & Arctic Seas, exhibition catalogue, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 2003, p. 74) Indeed, the present work expertly demonstrates the glistening effects of light and striking color that Bradford delighted in capturing in both words and paint.