Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight is an 1835 seascape painting by the British artist J.M.W. Turner.[1] It is set at the port of Newcastle in the North East of England. Keelmen are unloading coal from the flat-bottomed boats that has brought it up the Tyne River to the ships that will carry it on its onwards journey. The scene is illuminated by a flood of moonlight and the blazing torches of the keelmen .[2]

It was commissioned by the Manchester textile manufacturer. Henry McConnell as a companion piece by another work of Turner's featuring Venice The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore.[3][4] The painting was displayed at the Royal Academy's 1835 Summer Exhibition at Somerset House. Today it is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C..[5]

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Bailey, Anthony. J.M.W. Turner: Standing in the Sun. Tate Enterprises Ltd, 2013.
  • Hamilton, James. Turner - A Life. Sceptre, 1998.
No tags for this post.