Abraham Hulk*
1813 – London – 1897
Ships Becalmed along the Shoreline
Oil on canvas
21 x 34 1/4 inches (53.3 x 86.8 cm)
signed lower right
Abraham Hulk was born into an artistic family that for the largest part was comprised of artists that specialized in marine painting. He continued this tradition but there was also something of an adventures streak in his life.
In 1833 he sailed on a bark to the New World landing in Boston, from there he traveled up the Hudson river from New York City until Albany. He returned via Manchester in England in 1834. The artist upon his return to Holland settled first in Amsterdam. He specialized in seascapes, sometimes in choppy or stormy seas and at other times when the entire sea was flat and there was not even a hint of wind. In 1870 he returned to England where he remained until his death.
The painting Ships Becalmed is amongst his finest works painted shortly after his return in Holland. The almost absolute stillness at sunset with the water reflecting the ships, seems almost to be a snapshot of Dutch commerce of the time. | 
