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The Sea

1872
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
This contemplative seascape likely depicts the Long Island Sound from Contentment Island, Darien, Connecticut, where Kensett lived and worked from 1867 until his death in 1872. In this boldly simplified composition, the artist distilled nature to its most essential elements—land, sea, and sky—the last covering two-thirds of the canvas. Small sailboats dot the horizon, creating the illusion of depth and emphasizing the limitlessness of the ocean. Such views were widely popular with urban collectors, who often sought out meditative idealizations of nature as antidotes to fast-paced city life.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Sea
  • Artist: John Frederick Kensett (American, Cheshire, Connecticut 1816–1872 New York)
  • Date: 1872
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 15 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. (39.4 x 77.5 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Thomas Kensett, 1874
  • Object Number: 74.35
  • 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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