BIRCH, Thomas (1779-1851), Ships at the Entrance of a Port [New York]

BIRCH, Thomas (1779-1851) 

Ships at the Entrance of a Port [New York]

Oil on canvas

20” x 30 1/8” canvas

Vibrant scene of New York Harbor with the USS Constitution in the left foreground and the fortifications of Governor’s Island on the right. The work is highly reminiscent of the one by Birch in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Ref 47.1181), with the same composition, vantage point and dimensions. Another similar painting by Birch in the Springwood estate of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York shows the USS Constitution leaving New York Harbor.

Throughout his prolific career, Birch painted a variety of landscapes, though his most accomplished works by far are his sea- scapes. He first took up marine painting at the outbreak of the War of 1812, and immediately found an audience eager for depictions of battles at sea. Although he continued to paint landscapes, particularly with river views and country estates, many of his works from the second half of his career are naval scenes that reflect his mastery of the Anglo-Dutch tradition of marine painting. His mature work is characterized by a break from the rigid lines of his early paintings, with clear coloring and a clean palette that served well his desire to transmit the freshness of light and the fluidity of water that is evident in his earlier works. While many of these later compositions depict shipping on the Delaware and in New York harbor, he also executed a series of important canvases chronicling major naval engagements of the war. His seascapes depicting ships buffeted by storms along rocky coasts recall the compositions of Joseph Vernet, whose work Birch knew first hand, and those of Vernet’s followers in England, such as Philippe de Loutherbourg. Birch immigrated to America in 1794 with his father William Birch (1755-1834), a painter and engraver from whom he received his artistic training. The family settled in Philadelphia, where William, armed with letters of introduction from Ben- jamin West to leading citizens of that city, became a drawing-master. Early in their American careers both Birches executed cityscapes, several of which were engraved. Aside from stylistic affinities, the works of both father and son tended to emphasize the cultural progress and commercial prosperity of the young United States as well as its almost Edenic natural beauty. Thomas Birch was a frequent exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Academy, where he served as keeper from 1812 to 1817, as well as at other artistic institutions in Philadelphia and New York. His paintings are considered some of the finest in the genre of American landscape and marine painting.