Ships at Anchor

Artist William van de Velde the Younger (Dutch, 1633 - 1707)

Date17th century

MediumGray wash and black chalk over graphite on paper

DimensionsOverall: 5 15/16 × 15 9/16 inches (15.08 × 39.53 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Milton McGreevy

Object number81-30/92

On View

Not on view

Collections

European Art

Terms

Exhibition History

Drawings Collection of Milton McGreevy, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 7-April 4, 1965, no. 39, as Ships at Anchor.

Reality and Fantasy: Land, Town and Sea, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 15-October 26, 2008, no cat., as Ships at Anchor.

Reality and Fantasy: Land, Town and Sea, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, December 18, 2013-June 15, 2014, no cat., as Ships at Anchor.

Gallery Label

William van de Velde was the leading Dutch maritime painter of the later 17th century. He was well known for the accuracy with which he depicted his ships, and on occasion he would even arrange to be present at a battle, so that he could study the effects of naval combat at close quarters. This drawing is one of the many studies he made of vessels at anchor in calm water and would have served as a basis for his paintings. Even in this sketchy example, his eye for current naval practice is evident in the pattern of the sails and in the profiles of the individual vessels.

Provenance

William Mayor (d. 1874), London [1];

Purchased from Schaeffer Galleries, New York, by Milton McGreevy (1903-1980), Shawnee Mission, KS, 1955-1980;

Bequeathed by Milton McGreevy to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1981.

NOTES:

[1] Lugt 2799

Published References

“Drawings Collection of Milton McGreevy,” Bulletin (The Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum) 4, no. 6 (March 7-April 4, 1965): 27, (repro.), as Ships at Anchor.

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