TidesNet—Online Collections Entry Detail

DescriptionA large oil on canvas painting of a lumber ship off West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine that dates to 1875. It is the work of American artist, William Edward Norton (1843-1916) of Boston. As a young artist, Norton studied with George Inness. The 1870s marked an increase in the number of tourists as well as artists visiting this region and Norton was a part of this influx. It may well be that the scene in this painting is one Norton saw while arriving to this area by steamship from Boston. Norton also painted on neighboring Grand Manan island in New Brunswick. Soon after this time, Norton went to Europe to continue his career. On his return to the United States in 1901, he settled in New York City where he lived for the rest of his life. Norton's lumber ship off West Quoddy Head Lighthouse painting became part of the collections of the Tides Institute in an unexpected way. The institute received a call from one of its supporters about 15 years ago and the supporter said he was standing in front of a painting at the Roger King art gallery in Newport, Rhode Island. He went on to describe the lumber ship off West Quoddy Head Lighthouse painting and asked whether it would be of interest to the institute. The institute told the supporter that the painting would very much be of interest to the institute. The supporter then said that the painting was for sale for $15,000. In response, the institute told the supporter that it could not afford this price given its very limited acquisition budget. That was the end of the telephone conversation. Several weeks later a crate arrived at the front door of the Tides Institute and when the crate was opened up, there was the painting, a gift from the supporter to the institute. It has been in the institute's collections ever since. Artist: William Edward Norton Medium: Oil on canvas Classification: Paintings Circa: 1875 Gift of Markley Boyer, Sr. Old Accession Number: 71