View of the Whampoa Anchorage
Unknown Artist
1840
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
21 1/2 x 28 7/8 in. (53.8 x 72 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Estate of Sarah B. Russell, in her memory, 1956
Accession Number
56.108.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling world of 19th-century maritime trade with *View of the Whamp Anchorage*, a captivating oil on canvas painted in 1840 by an unknown American artist. This scene captures the vital anchorage near Canton (Guangzhou China—a key stop for foreign vessels under the restrictive Canton System, where Western traders, including Americans, anchored before accessing the city. Painted amid the tensions of the First Opium (1839–184), it likely depicts clipper ships and merchant vessels amid a forested landscape and calm waters, evoking the era's global commerce and adventure. Oil on ca...