It looms large and vague, like some huge bird
Date1891
Artist
Julian Oliver Davidson
(American painter and illustrator, 1853–1894)
Illustration Citation"Chan Ok: A Romance of the Eastern Seas," by Julian O. Davidson, in St. Nicholas, May 1901. Story serialized in St. Nicholas in May, June, July , August, September, and October of 1891
MediumInk and gouache on paper
Dimensionssheet: 7 1/4 × 7 3/8 in. (18.4 × 18.7 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 1990
Object number1990-21
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextAn accomplished writer as well as artist, Julian Oliver Davidson probably called on his own sea-going experience for this adventure story. In his late teens, he left his native Baltimore and worked on the crew of a merchant steamship in the Mediterranean countries, Central America, and China. He used skeches and props from these voyages in his later work.Davidson gained fame as a specialist in naval illustration during the Civil War, when he drew military scenes based on reports rushed from the field to publishers such as Harper's. As a noted marine painter, he exhibited his works regularly; his studio was located at the Nyack (New York) Boat Club on the Hudson River.