Provenance

Lee and Juliet Folger

Explore Selected Works

See all 28 works of art
Three tall sailing ships, each with three masts and full sails, float in calm, arctic waters, surrounded by fragments of icebergs and ice floes amid a smattering of arctic animals in this horizontal landscape painting. The horizon line comes about a quarter of the way up the composition so the sails and rigging of the ships are shown against the sky. The clouds have ivory tops and lavender-purple undersides, and they curve in a C-shaped bank to cover most of the left half of the painting and to span the horizon. The three ships closest to us are spaced evenly across the composition, with the left-most the closest, and therefore the largest. The ship to our right is set a bit farther back, and the center ship is the farthest away. A rowboat holding several men has pulled alongside the boat to our left, and more men haul massive slabs of whale blubber up the side of the ship. Others walk on an ice floe nearby. Close inspection reveals more rowboats around and beyond these ships, and several more ships fading into the hazy distance along the horizon. Jagged edged chunks of icebergs as tall as the ships float around them. Closer to us, a trio of seals sits on an ice floe near the lower center of the composition, and a polar bear stands nose to nose with a cub to our right. Two narwhal whales with long tusks break the surface of the water between us and the ships, as does a whale’s tail near the boat to our right. Two walruses with long tusks sit on a floe near the center ship. A couple dozen birds, many white with black wing tips, fly low over the surface of the water across the painting.
John Ward of Hull, The Northern Whale Fishery: The "Swan" and "Isabella", c. 1840, oil on canvas, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2007.114.1

The Northern Whale Fishery: The "Swan" and "Isabella"

John Ward of Hull · c. 1840 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2007.114.1

A three-masted warship against a sky piled with clouds fills most of the right half of this vertical painting. The cream-white sails are bright in the sunlight, and tiny deckhands work along the horizontal yards and along the rigging. The flat stern faces us and is decorated with a rearing lion and unicorn on either side of a shield among gold molding. Eight hatches along the port side of the ship are lifted, and smoke shoots out of one of the cannons poking through the openings. Six men row a boat carrying seven more men to the left. A large flag fluttering from the stern has a red and white cross on a blue field. A single-masted sailboat with its red sail furled has pulled up to the stern of the warship, and three people work there. Another warship with sails partially raised floats in the hazy background to the left. The horizon comes about a quarter of the way up the composition, and clouds shaded with muted peach and lavender-tinted gray fill the sky along the horizon and break along the top third of the painting. Minuscule in scale, two white and black birds fly low to the water near the lower right corner of the painting. The artist signed and dated the painting as if he had inscribed a piece of driftwood near the birds: “W. V Velde In Londen 1673.”
Willem van de Velde the Younger, An English Warship Firing a Salute, 1673, oil on canvas, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2018.10.1

An English Warship Firing a Salute

Willem van de Velde the Younger · 1673 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2018.10.1

Shown from the chest up, a bearded man with pale skin and flushed cheeks wears a chestnut-brown jacket with a thick, lace-trimmed, pleated, cream-white collar in this octagonal portrait painting. The man’s body is angled to our right, and he cuts his light brown eyes back to look at us. Wrinkles line the corners of his eyes under dark brows, and he has a straight, narrow nose and high cheekbones. His red lips are closed and almost lost in the shadow of his full, trimmed beard. His dark brown hair is combed back from a receding hairline and falls around his ears. The dense, ruffled collar comes up to the earlobe we can see. His brown vest has a row of gold buttons down the front, and there are more gold buttons down the sleeve. He is lit from our left so the far side of his face is in shadow. The dark brown background lightens slightly around his face.
Thomas de Keyser, Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Fancy Ruff, 1627, oil on copper, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2012.12.1

Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Fancy Ruff

Thomas de Keyser · 1627 · oil on copper ·  Accession ID  2012.12.1

Water laps at a curving shoreline in front of a steep sandy dune carpeted in grass, shrubs, and trees in this horizontal landscape painting. The dune takes up the lower right quadrant of the composition. A few broken tree trunks are overgrown with vines and plants across the top and down the sloping side of the dune facing us. A red brick wall cuts through the vegetation up the side of the dune and disappears into the shrubbery at the top. The twisting branches and canopies of three large trees reach into the upper right quadrant of the composition. The vegetation stops abruptly along the sheer edge of the dune where it faces the water. The land curves like a backward capital letter C so it almost reaches the left edge of the painting along the horizon, which comes a quarter of the way up the composition. A cow and three more animals, perhaps sheep or more cows, graze or lie on a grassy mound in the distance, and sailboats line the horizon in the deep distance. White ripples swirl in the steel-blue water. The artist signed and dated the lower center, “J Ruisdael . 1648.”
Jacob van Ruisdael, Dunes by the Sea, 1648, oil on panel, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2017.55.1

Dunes by the Sea

Jacob van Ruisdael · 1648 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2017.55.1

A band of gray ice spans the bottom quarter of this vertical landscape painting, where dozens of people stand, skate, ride in sledges, or cluster near a slender wooden tower, all beneath a vivid blue sky screened with towering gray clouds. We look slightly down onto the scene from a distance. The cloud bank is horizontally streaked with pale yellow light along the bottom, but swells into gray puffs that break apart in several places toward the top to reveal patches of blue sky. The people below wear heavy coats, hats, and trousers, mostly in muted slate blue, gray, and brown. Many have their backs to us. Closest to us and near the lower left corner of the painting, a rectangular wooden sledge on rail-like runners holds five or six passengers, and is pulled by a brown horse toward the center distance. Nearby, a man on his hands and knees scrambles for his fallen hat. A man holds a pole like a hockey stick behind him, looking into the distance where others stand or run with more sticks. Near the bottom center of the painting, a man pushes a sledge laden with two brown bundles. The largest group of people and children gather on and around a rickety wooden pier from which the tower rises, to our right of center. A lantern-like structure sits atop a narrow platform on a tall pole, at the top of the tower. One ladder leads up to a landing about two-thirds of the way up the pole, and another leads to the top. A house with a pitched roof and smoking chimney sits on the far side of the pier, between two bare trees with curling, twisting branches. Birds fly above the tower. The ice is dark gray closest to us, and it becomes paler as it recedes into the distance. People dot the ice singly and in small groups as far as the eye can see. Far away, the silhouettes of a church with a spire, the masts of two ships, a wide tower, and a windmill line the horizon. The artist signed the work with a monogram and a date as if painted on the boat in the lower right corner: “VG 1646.”
Jan van Goyen, Ice Scene near a Wooden Observation Tower, 1646, oil on panel, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2014.35.1

Ice Scene near a Wooden Observation Tower

Jan van Goyen · 1646 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2014.35.1

A man with pale, peachy skin sits holding and tuning a lute next to a heavily laden table in this vertical portrait painting. The man’s body faces us, and he looks at us with light brown eyes under slightly furrowed brows. His round face is tipped slightly to our right, toward the neck of his instrument, so he looks out from the corners of his eyes. He has a round face, a snub nose, and his pale pink lips are closed. His dark blond mustache curls up at the ends, and he has a faint goatee. Nestled on chin-length, curly, light brown hair, his gray hat has a wide, soft brim pushed up around the crown. Much of his torso is covered by the lute but he wears a wide, white collar under a billowing, fawn-brown cloak. A cloth on his shirt or pinned under the instrument has small black dots on a white background. His knickerboxers match his cloak, and are tied with a brick-red ribbons just below his knees, over white stockings. More red ribbons are tied to the front of his black leather shoes, which have low heels. One foot rests splayed on the bare, hardwood floor. His other foot is propped up on the rail of the chair to support the instrument. One hand is braced over the strings, and he tunes the pegs with the other. He sits next to a table covered with an aquamarine-blue cloth and overflowing with kitchen utensils, smoking instruments, and food. Closest to the man, a pipe rests in an earthenware bowl filled with burning embers, which sits on a terracotta-orange plate. Near that are a silver-colored, covered ewer, a short drinking glass, a covered box with its lid open, and, to our right, a pewter plate with a roll and a knife. A wooden instrument like a small violin sits at the back of the table. The scene is lit from our left. The back wall of the room deepens from clay brown near the light to coffee brown in the upper right corner.
Jan Miense Molenaer, Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, c. 1637/1638, oil on panel, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2015.20.1

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player

Jan Miense Molenaer · c. 1637/1638 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2015.20.1

A pale-skinned, bearded man sits at a table set in front of a window and smokes a pipe in this vertical painting. Light pours in from the window and leaves much of the room behind the man in deep shadow. The man’s body is angled to our left, and he rests his right elbow, also to our left, on the table and looks steadily at us. The man has a round face with rosy cheeks and a copper-red beard. His dark, gold-edged hat rolls back away from his face, creating an upward flounce. His cream-white, lace-edged collar lies across his shoulders over a gorget, the piece of silver armor that encircles the neck and comes to a point over the chest. His plum-purple sleeveless jacket and loose, knee-length britches have a sheen. Voluminous white sleeves are covered with strips of black and golden yellow fabric, and yellow fabric flares like a mini cape behind the sleeve we see. The man wears a tawny-brown glove on his left hand, to our right. That hand rests on his hip with the palm facing out. He holds the long, white clay pipe to his lips with his other ungloved hand. A wisp of smoke rises from a burning ember at the end of the pipe. The man’s pants are edged with gold around the bottom hem, which fall loosely around teal-green stockings. His slouchy black boots have square toes, and the tops fall down to reveal crimson-red undersides. A brass band wraps across the arch of the foot closer to us, and a star-shaped spur projects off the back. The man sits on a three-legged stool with a triangular seat. More armor, a horn, and a banner with fringed edges lie in a heap in the bottom right corner of the painting. To the left, a playing card, a seven of hearts, lies face up near a second chair, this one wood with a seat upholstered in iron gray. A forest-green cloak edged with gold fringe is draped over the high back of that seat, and a staff with a metal finial leans against the cloak. The seat and stool face a table mostly covered with a sage-green cloth. More playing cards, three more white clay pipes, a tall glass of beer, a clay pot, and a white jug with a narrow silver lid sit on the table. A sack and perhaps a firearm hang on the wall to the left of the arched window, which is set in the thick gray wall. The floor is wood plank, and the space behind the man falls into shadow but appears to be empty. The artist signed the painting as if he had inscribed his name on the side of the chair with the cloak: “FvMieris.”
Frans van Mieris, A Soldier Smoking a Pipe, c. 1657/1658, oil on panel, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2016.10.1

A Soldier Smoking a Pipe

Frans van Mieris · c. 1657/1658 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2016.10.1

A blue and white bowl with a flaring rim is filled with small red strawberries, and the currants and cherries scattered around it are arranged along a wooden ledge or table in this horizontal still life painting. A single, ruby-red and white carnation with a short stem has been stuck down into the bowl at the back center. A few green strawberry leaves lie among the berries near the flower. A butterfly with honey-yellow and black wings perches on one leaf to our right. The top edge of the bowl’s rim is painted with geometric designs in muted azure blue between roughly oval-shaped medallions painted with stylized flowers. The base of the bowl is painted with fruit within a rounded medallion. To our left of the bowl, six vibrant red cherries and three stems of pearl-white currants sit on the table. To our right is another sprig of white currants and one of gleaming, scarlet-red currants. Between them is a trio of strawberry leaves and a pair of strawberries. A fly has landed on one of those berries, near the bottom center of the composition. Several water droplets glisten on the leaves and tabletop. The background is dark, earthen brown.
Jacob van Hulsdonck, Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl, c. 1620, oil on copper, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2013.1.1

Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl

Jacob van Hulsdonck · c. 1620 · oil on copper ·  Accession ID  2013.1.1

A tightly packed crowd of about two dozen men and women surges out of a fortified stone ruin in this horizontal painting. The building fills the right half of the composition and extends off the top edge. Shrubs and vegetation grow on fragments of architecture that loom behind the crowd. Near the front of the crowd, a man wearing a lilac-purple robe kneels, bracing the crossbeam of a wooden cross over one shoulder. He wears a ring of thorns on his head, and he looks back over his shoulder so his face turns to us. His fingers are interlaced over the crossbeam, which is tied with rope. A muscled, bare-chested man wearing ruby-red, knee-length britches and an ax tied around his waist pulls the rope. A woman wearing a blue dress, yellow robe, and white veil holds out a piece of white fabric to our right. Just beyond the cross, two men walk with their hands tied behind their back, their heads down. They are nude except for gray cloths tied across their hips. To our right in the crowd, a woman wearing a white head covering and rose-pink dress under a voluminous, azure-blue robe stands with her fingers interlaced. A second woman, in slate blue, stands next to her, looking at and pointing to her. The other men in the crowd wear turbans, feathered caps, or are bareheaded. Some wear tunics and some are bare chested. Two men on horseback bring up the rear of the crowd, under the tall rectangular doorway leading into the building. A man wearing armor rides a rearing, brown and white dappled horse in front of the crowd, to our left. Four men walk farther along the path where it disappears behind another fragment of a building, also overgrown with plants. More people, painted ghostly white, walk along the path where it curves into the deep distance between rolling hills. A grove with bushes, palm trees, and trees with rounded canopies grows in the distance to our right. White and flint-gray clouds roll across the pale blue sky above.
Cornelis van Poelenburch, Christ Carrying the Cross, early 1620s, oil on copper, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2007.49.1

Christ Carrying the Cross

Cornelis van Poelenburch · early 1620s · oil on copper ·  Accession ID  2007.49.1

We look slightly down onto a scene showing light-skinned men, women, and children ice skating on a frozen river in this horizontal landscape painting. We get the impression of hundreds of people gathered on the ice creating a crowd that extends into the hazy distance. The couple dozen closest to us are the most defined. A few clusters of people and individuals in particular draw our attention. For example, a group of three men wearing dark cloaks and hats stand in conversation on our right. Two boys nearby hold sticks and play a game similar to hockey. A small child holds two smaller sticks, perhaps to help balance. A man in the front center wears puffy scarlet-red pants with white stockings, a red jacket, and a tall brown hat with a cloud of scarlet feathers. He stands next to a woman wearing a black hooded cloak over a black skirt and raspberry-pink bodice. She tucks her hands into a cylindrical muffler held at her waist. Another elegantly dressed man in golden yellows and black and a woman in mauve pink and butter yellow stand nearby. Some of people throughout the scene wear white frilly collars and others are more simply dressed in shades of brown, gray, and black. To our right, a faded rose-red windmill stands at the river’s edge, and to our left a large house with steeply pitched and stepped roofs is enclosed within a solid fence painted with pink diamonds against black and white. Smoke rises from one chimney, and other houses and a church line the riverbank into the distance. A wooden bridge near a grove of bare trees connects spit of land near us in the lower left corner with the village beyond. Brilliant azure-blue sky is visible through breaks in the steel-gray clouds above.
Adam van Breen, Skating on the Frozen Amstel River, 1611, oil on panel, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, in honor of Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., 2010.20.1

Skating on the Frozen Amstel River

Adam van Breen · 1611 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2010.20.1