Sailboats Racing on the Delaware
1874 · Oil on canvas · Philadelphia Museum of Art
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This print

About this work
- Artist
- Thomas Eakins (1844–1916)
- Year
- 1874
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 61 × 91.4 cm
- Collection
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Movement
- Realism
Broad white sails of racing boats lean hard in a stiff breeze on the brown waters of the Delaware River, the nearest boat crowded with its crew leaning out to windward. Eakins, who grew up in Philadelphia and rowed and sailed on its rivers, painted the race with the same care for rigging, wind and light he gave his rowing pictures. The far shore is a low line of trees under a pale lavender sky. The painting came to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1929 with the large gift of his work from his widow, Susan Macdowell Eakins.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A breezy white-sail river scene for a study, office or lake house in a black or dark wood frame. It suits pale blue, warm white or navy walls at 24×16 and pairs with Eakins's The Biglin Brothers Racing.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Realism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1874)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- study or library, home office, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Sailboats Racing on the Delaware in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Sailboats Racing on the Delaware painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
































