A Fishing Party Off Long Island 1860

Junius Brutus Stearns made this painting, "A Fishing Party Off Long Island," with oil on canvas. Stearns used traditional art materials to produce an image that speaks to contemporary life. Look closely, and you’ll notice how the artist contrasted the stillness of the water and sky with the dynamic poses of the fishing party. The painting technique would have involved building up layers of paint, with careful attention paid to light and shadow. The very act of making this painting required considerable labor, but the image itself is about leisure. These men are clearly not working class – more likely, prosperous merchants enjoying a day off, or perhaps engaging in a networking opportunity. The boats in the background and the men's clothing point towards a society with clear hierarchies, with some benefitting from their positions in society. Seen this way, Stearns’ painting is not just a pleasant marine scene, but a window onto the social and economic structures of 19th-century America. It reminds us that even paintings, seemingly divorced from everyday life, are made of physical materials and embedded in historical context.