Inscribed on the back 'Attributed to

19th century

A fine small maritime picture of a sailing boat on a lively sea. Many other vessels are shown in the background, and to the extreme right, a team of men are hurriedly rowing back to harbour to escape the gathering storm clouds in the left of the picture. A great sense of spatial distance is achieved by the artist's use of large, choppy waves highlighted with hooks and flashes of white foam in the foreground, and darker, deeper water that joins with the horizon, much in the style of JWM Turner's early work.