Sails and a Vista (c. 1924): Art, History and Details

Sails and a Vista (c. 1924) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Orville Houghton Peets (American, 1884–1968).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This dramatically framed image captures the scale of marine vessels. Sharp masts direct the viewer’s gaze toward the ornate bow that looms over the top of the composition. A large sail obscures the right-hand side of the image, making the clear sky appear even brighter. Figures in the foreground appear miniscule next to the grand ships. Peets traveled around Europe extensively, making it difficult to identify this port. However, it is possible that his inspiration was Porto, Portugal, the location of many of his other engravings during this period.

Object facts

• Title: Sails and a Vista
• Date: c. 1924
• Creator attribution: Orville Houghton Peets (American, 1884–1968)
• Culture: America, Ohio, Cleveland
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1925.611

A detail from the museum

Peets claimed to dislike Impressionism, describing the style as a lack of technique.

Collection credit

Gift of Ralph King

Further reading listed by the museum

• Orville Houghton Peets Entry Card to 1925 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.