Story Moments Introductions to Gloucester's History and Culture
Painting: Gloucester Harbor at Sunrise
Fitz Henry Lane. Gloucester Harbor at Sunrise. c1850s. Oil on canvas. Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester MA

“The farther Lane gets out to sea the more at home he seems to be…. His ships in a squall, his sketches of Cape Ann sea-side scenery, and all his salt water and boating scenes are unequalled in their fidelity to the ocean’s varying aspects.”

1850 review from the Boston Transcript

Lane is one of the finest nineteenth-century luminist painters. He grew up along this waterfront, his father a sail maker. Lane designed his signature granite house in 1847. He sketched from the windows, was rowed into the harbor by friends, and at least once, was hoisted up a masthead to gain perspective. Cape Ann Museum holds the world’s largest collection of Lanes’ paintings and letters.
  • Fitz Henry Lane c.1850s

    Fitz Henry Lane. Gloucester Harbor at Sunrise. c1850s. Oil on canvas. Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester MA