The Trailing Fog (c. 1928): Art, History and Details

The Trailing Fog (c. 1928) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Frank Wilcox (American, 1887–1964).

The work and its context

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

The progressive lightening of shades and rippling reflections of the figures in this image demonstrate Frank Wilcox’s mastery of watercolor. Spots of exposed paper along the lefthand side appear to mimic sea spray while a blur of wash on the right suggests a thickening bank of fog. Likely inspired by his trips to Canada and Maine, this scene may depict kelp gatherers. While elsewhere in the world seaweed was collected in bulk for its chemical properties, Maine kelp gatherers used it as fertilizer.

Object facts

• Title: The Trailing Fog
• Date: c. 1928
• Creator attribution: Frank Wilcox (American, 1887–1964)
• Culture: America, Ohio, Cleveland
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: watercolor
• Dimensions: Paper: 36.2 x 49.5 cm (14 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.)
• Collection: DR - American - Cleveland School
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 1929.1978

A detail from the museum

A 1907 article in the Boston Herald describes kelp gatherers in Maine working 18-hour days on average.

Collection credit

Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Clark, Edna Maria. Ohio Art and Artists, Richmond: Garrett and Massie, 1932.
• Frank Wilcox Entry Card to 1929 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.