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Passing off of the Storm

1872
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 761
Kensett was a founder of The Met and a member of its executive committee until his early death. Soon after, his brother, Thomas, donated thirty-eight of the artist’s paintings known as his “Last Summer’s Work” as a testament to “the great interest my late brother had in the success of your Institution.” For this composition Kensett selected a spare, panoramic format inspired by his view from Contentment Island, near his home in Darien, Connecticut. Atmospheric bands of clouds, sky, and water are interrupted by subtle brushstrokes representing slanting reeds or markers, a tiny island, several sailboats, a rowboat, reflections, and what appears to be a white wave on the water’s otherwise placid surface. The painting’s title affirms that the ominous-looking weather is “passing off” rather than approaching.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Passing off of the Storm
  • Artist: John Frederick Kensett (American, Cheshire, Connecticut 1816–1872 New York)
  • Date: 1872
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 11 3/8 x 24 1/2 in. (28.9 x 62.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Thomas Kensett, 1874
  • Object Number: 74.27
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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[Photographs of paintings by J. F. Kensett]
John Frederick Kensett
1874 (?)
Lake George, 1872, John Frederick Kensett American, Oil on canvas, American
Lake George, 1872
John Frederick Kensett
1872
Seated female figures, train in left background, ship in right background (bank note design)
John Frederick Kensett
ca. 1835–72
Bank Note Element: A Woman in Classical Robes Embracing a Large Broken Stone Letter "I", with a Distant Sailing Ship to the Left and a Factory to the Right
John Frederick Kensett
1835–72
Bank Note Element: Three Cupids with Tendrils
John Frederick Kensett
1835–72

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