The Artists

"An Incident of Whaling," by William Bradford. Image courtesy: Wiki Commons

Herman Melville’s whaling novel Moby Dick is one important and influential work of American literature. However, Moby Dick is not the only literary byproduct of the American whale fishery. The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was for a time a preacher in New Bedford and wrote of the whaling industry. Less well-known are the private shipboard journals kept by many thousand young New Bedforders; some of these journals have been published.

Several painters made their careers depicting the whaling industry and all its hazards, most notably William Bradford, Robert Swain Gifford, Charles Raleigh, and Benjamin Russell.

 

Albert Pinkham Ryder. Photo courtesy: Wiki Commons

Albert Pinkham Ryder
Albert Pinkham Ryder was a 19^th century artist born in New Bedford. His seascapes were reminiscent of the cold Atlantic, and his play with tone set him up to be a modernist artist.

 

Clifford Warren Ashley.

Clifford Warren Ashley
Clifford Ashley, a 19^th century sailor turned artist, documented the tail end of the whaling industry via film and photography. He was also a painter, illustrator, and knot expert.

 

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  Albert Beirstadt
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  Herman Melville
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  John James Audubon