Loss of the Schooner 'John S. Spence' of Norfolk, Virginia, 2d view-Rescue of the Survivors  1833

Although he achieved success with his ship portraits, Birch’s distinctive contribution to American art was his more romantic renderings of ships in storms, such as Loss of the Schooner "John S. Spence" . . . . In his cool palette, evocative sky, and turbulent sea Birch reveals the influence of Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), a French marine painter whose imaginative works were ...