The Wreck (1923): Art, History and Details

The Wreck (1923) 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:

Frank Wilcox painted multiple shipwrecks in Boothbay, Maine, where this work was likely completed. Typically, wrecking commissioners along the Northeast coast stripped these old boats to repurpose materials and limit the amount of dangerous debris in the water. However, those that were left behind often became popular among locals and offered scenic subject matter for artists. In this image, Wilcox’s diverse color palette brings new life to the wreck, vibrantly distinguishing it from the blank sea and sky.

Object facts

• Title: The Wreck
• Date: 1923
• Creator attribution: Frank Wilcox (American, 1887–1964)
• Culture: America, Ohio, Cleveland
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: watercolor
• Dimensions: Paper: 34.3 x 49.5 cm (13 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.)
• Collection: DR - American - Cleveland School
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 1924.634

A detail from the museum

One popular shipwreck in Boothbay was that of the Mary Weaver, which was disassembled as part of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.

Collection credit

Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.

Further reading listed by the museum

• Frank Wilcox Entry Card to 1924 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.