19th c. William Frye Oil, Shipwrecked Mother & Children

William Frye (alt. George Wilhelm Frye)
(German-American, 1822-1872)
Shipwreck with Mother and Children
Oil on canvas
50" x 42 1/4"

A large-scale tragic history painting of the Romantic movement from William Frye, a noted portrait artist of the mid-19th century. The subjects are composed triangularly: a mother in profile clutches her young daughter who faces away from the viewer, while her infant child gazes in three-quarters' view directly toward the viewer. In the right foreground, water pours into the vessel. The composition is framed by the ship's sail to the left and riggings to the right. In the background, lightning strikes from stormy skies above the waves.

Dramatic scenes of sinking ships were a staple of Romanticism in the 19th century, from Gericault to Delacroix to Turner. Frye's oil is notable within that tradition for its subject being closely observed figures rather than the typical emphasis on large-scale spectacle.

William Frye was a successful portrait artist born in Germany in 1822, who immigrated to the United States, where he worked across the American South. He is most closely associated with Huntsville, Alabama in Madison County.

The work is unsigned. In a lighted frame that measures 56 1/2" x 49".

Provenance: From the collection of a descendant of William Frye: the painting has remained in the family's possession since its creation. Included is notarized documentation to that effect.
Condition Report: There is some loss to the frame's applied gilt gesso on the left sight edge. Moderate craquelure across the work.