This late 19th-century oil painting by English artist Frederick Joseph Sang (1846-1931) depicts a coastal landscape with a stormy sky. Sang was an accomplished painter of maritime subjects, views and harbours.
Gathered on a wind-battered cliff top, several monochromatic figures peer through pelting rain across a heaving turbulent sea. In the distance, set against a glimmer of horizontal light, a stricken ship navigates the waves. Did the sailors return to shore? We will never know. On the reverse, a partially legible title appears to read ‘An Anxious Moment’.
Born in St John’s Wood, London, Sang’s father was the distinguished decorative artist Frederick Sang, responsible for numerous neo-classical ceiling designs and frescoes. His commissions included ornate decorative schemes for St Pancras station, London’s Royal Exchange and Spencer House at St James’ Palace among others.
Young Sang was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps and was probably trained by him. But alongside his work as a ‘decorative painter’, he also developed a keen interest in the emerging ‘plein air’ painters of France. The two styles were a world apart - on one hand, his father’s approach required mathematical precision and adherence to convention, while on the other, the French technique was liberal, expressive and natural.
Around 1875, he moved to Paris with his wife, Carolina Jane Garth Sang, where the pair had at least one child. It appears he stayed in the French capital until the death of his wife in 1900, while also maintaining a studio in St John’s Wood. Interestingly, his English studio was next to the home of Scottish artist, John Robertson Reid (1851-1926).
During his time in France, he achieved much success, showing numerous works at the Paris Salon. A critic remarked that his “very fine sea pieces” display “true English feeling for the sea in the expanse of waves” and that “the English visitor will scarcely find in the gallery any sea paintings that will please him so well as these”. Another requested that he should “let his own countrymen see more of his realistic paintings of the briny”.
His most compelling works were completed ‘on the spot’ with impulsive brushwork and quick observations. They’re reminiscent of studies by the earlier French ‘Barbizon School’ painters. Yet, at times, he also worked with greater control - perhaps an element of his father’s regimen was prevalent in his decision-making.
In 1891, he debuted at London’s Royal Academy and went on to exhibit a further eight paintings. Many of his later compositions depict views of quiet harbours with sedentary sailboats bobbing alongside their moorings. It’s likely that, as an experienced sailor, he travelled extensively around the British Isles. He returned to London around 1901 and remained in the capital for thirty years.
He’s represented at the Jersey Museum and Art Gallery and North Hertfordshire Museum.
Inscribed on the reverse and held in a later frame.
Learn more about Frederick Jacques Sang in our directory.
Medium: Oil on board
Overall size: 14” x 11” / 36cm x 28cm
Year of creation: c. 1890
Labels & Inscriptions: Signed on the reverse and inscribed with the title.
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Frame in good condition.
Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Our reference: BRV1939
