Technique

The panel is a single section of mahogany-type wood. The wood grain runs horizontally across the long side of the panel. The brush-strokes of the pale, warm off-white, priming, as well as the wood grain, are visible through the thin paint. The priming provides a mid-colour for the blue-green paint. There may be a graphite pencil line defining the line of the horizon. Dr Joyce H. Townsend observed:

'The panel is well covered with paint, including wet-in-wet working of several tones of mushroom and lilac/mushroom for the clouds. The sea is economically painted with long horizontal strokes of slightly thinned paint, suggesting a slight swell. There are some more curling white brushstrokes for the foam on the waves … The sky and the sea are painted with distinct blues … likely Prussian blue.' 1

Conservation History

The panel has an auxiliary framing device, also in mahogany-type wood, made by adhering thin battens of the same materials, with mitred corners. 2

It was restored at some unknown date, and then cleaned and revarnished by John Bull in 1980. It is thinly painted and shows some signs of retouching to small damaged areas and thin paint. 3

Frame

It is in its original Grau style frame, dating from the 1890s. 4 40.4 x 48.0 x 5.6 cm.