SHIP SALUTING AT THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA

Depicting a ship saluting St. Helena, the island where Napoleon was exiled, surrounded by stylized waves and dramatic lighting, the present work exhibits the characteristics of artist Thomas Chambers. A very similar work depicting the same subject by Chambers is illustrated in Kathleen A. Foster, Thomas Chambers: American Marine Landscape Painter, 1808-1869 (New Haven, 2008), p. 71. fig. 3-32. These works are both decorative and symbolic, and Chambers likely painted them to appeal to the interest in America surrounding Napoleon and the events of his life.