This is a striking and different painting by the maritime artist Montague Dawson, with a sailing merchant ship slicing through a bestilled and hazy early evening upon a slick and reflective sea. The ethereal qualities of the atmosphere and ocean accentuate the reality of the large ship with her full broad sails hoping to catch what momentum there's still to be found, her illuminating running lights appearing as unmatched glowing eyes in the gloom. Dawson, as self-driven an artist as any other before or since, was passionate about his works, and tirelessly strove for perfection in his compositions and his take on realism through his paintings. He would employ sketches and models, and it is easy to imagine him chasing the illusive qualities of light, lumination and shadow that he has so superiorly captured in this canvas. The irregular path of the ship's deep reflection over the undulating ocean swells of a slow, rolling pace makes it possible to imagine hearing the lapping water against the ship's hull.
Dawson's fading light has a featured roll in the sky, the very essence of the sunset that we just missed behind the clouds. We believe, and it's confirmed with the early signature by the artist, this painting is within the first decades of his developing career, with his search for his later recognized favoritism for heavy driven seas with ships running at extreme speeds just beginning to materialize. This is a special and unique work by the artist.
