Moonlit Cove
1880s · Oil on canvas · The Phillips Collection, Washington
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About this work
- Artist
- Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847–1917)
- Year
- 1880s
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 35.9 × 43.5 cm
- Collection
- The Phillips Collection, Washington
- Movement
- Tonalism
An empty boat lies moored in a small cove under a looming dark cliff, while a moon in a pale halo lights the cliff's edge and the water below with a greenish gold glow. Ryder reduced the scene to a few flat, simplified shapes, and the painting's mood of romantic mystery made it an icon for American modernists after it was shown at the 1913 Armory Show. Heavy oil on the back of the canvas has darkened it and the surface is finely crazed. Duncan Phillips bought it in 1924 and called it one of the world's great romantic pictures.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A small, glowing green-and-gold night scene for a bedroom, study or reading nook in a dark wood frame. It suits charcoal, forest green or warm white walls at 24×18 and pairs with Ryder's Toilers of the Sea.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Tonalism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1880s)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- bedroom, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×18. Prints at 16×12, 24×18 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or dark wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
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 Moonlit Cove in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Moonlit Cove 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.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
