Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight
1835 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
📦 Free shipping on every order — or upgrade to Express ($14.9) at checkout. Most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days (Express 2–4).
About this work
- Artist
- J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851)
- Year
- 1835
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 92.3 × 122.8 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Movement
- Romanticism
On the River Tyne at night, keelmen transfer coal from their flat-bottomed keels into the ships that will carry it south, their torches blazing orange against a flood of cool white moonlight that opens a path across the still water. The setting is the port of Newcastle; dark smoke drifts up at the right, perhaps a nod to the pollution of the new industrial age. Turner painted it in 1835 for the Manchester textile manufacturer Henry McConnel as a deliberate companion to the Venetian view McConnel had bought from him the year before: working, industrial Britain set against the dreamlike serenity of Venice. It was shown at the Royal Academy in 1835. The two canvases were separated when McConnel sold them in 1849 and reunited when both entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 1942 with the Widener Collection.
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
Orange torches against a flood of cool white moonlight on still water, a nocturne for a study, den or dining room at 24×18 or 32×24 in black. A charcoal, navy or deep green wall; hang it beside the Venice view it was painted to contrast.
- Style
- Romanticism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1835)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; oak lightens 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 Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight 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.
The full-bleed edition
The painting printed edge-to-edge at its own proportions, filling the whole sheet — and available on gallery-wrapped canvas.
