Maritime & Marine Paintings

The terms maritime and marine art are often used interchangeably. Treated rigorously, marine art is any type of painting, sculpture, or other art that has to do with the sea, and maritime art includes images of ocean-going vessels. Maritime paintings were produced mainly from the 17th through the 19th centuries.

These paintings can be rich and detailed with believable depth; or swift, painterly gestures of color conveying light and atmosphere. Many also come especially from countries with a strong relationship to the sea. Artists in the Netherlands produced many maritime paintings in the Dutch Golden Age of the 1600s. In "The Fighting Temeraire," 1839, English artist J.M.W. Turner acknowledged Britain’s weakening naval power.

Often, maritime art is included in larger sales, rather than as a stand-alone category. For example, at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, American antiques sales usually include a few works of maritime art. Similarly, the Old Masters drawings and paintings sales often include maritime works.

Quick Facts

• Bonhams, unlike other major auction houses, holds stand-alone sales of paintings in the marine and maritime categories
• Bonhams London sold Charles Napier Hemy, "The Crab Pots," 1904, for £120,000 on February 19, 2008
• On April 15, 2015, the same company sold Philip John Ouless' "The Jersey trading schooner Sea Bird heading out from Gorey Harbour, Jersey, with Mont Orgueil Castle beyond," 1874, for £27,500