The Toilers of the Sea
c. 1880–1885 · Oil on wood · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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About this work
- Artist
- Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847–1917)
- Year
- c. 1880–1885
- Medium
- Oil on wood
- Original size
- 29.2 × 30.5 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Movement
- Tonalism
A small sailboat with a dark sail rides a heaving sea under a full moon and a sky of heavy clouds, the forms flattened into a few shapes of gold and brown. The title comes from Victor Hugo's novel of a Guernsey fisherman. Ryder, the son of a New Bedford whaling-town family, painted the sea from memory and imagination in a tiny studio in New York, reworking each panel for years. This one is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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 small, glowing moonlit marine for a study, bedroom or reading nook in a dark wood frame. It suits charcoal, navy or warm white walls and pairs with Whistler's nocturnes.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Tonalism painting
- Era
- 19th century (c. 1880–1885)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- bedroom, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — dark wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens 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 The Toilers of the Sea in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Toilers of the Sea 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.



























