Foundering
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
As in his painting The Last Days of Pompeii, on view nearby, here James Hamilton depicts human frailty in the face of nature’s awesome force. Under dramatic skies a foundering ship is tossed on stormy waves. A Confederate flag whips from the top of the mast (upside down to signal distress), making the image emblematic of the ongoing devastation of the U.S. Civil War and predictive of the South’s defeat.
Caption
James Hamilton (American, 1819–1878). Foundering, 1863. Oil on canvas, 59 5/8 x 48 1/16 in. (151.5 x 122 cm) frame: 70 1/8 × 58 9/16 × 5 1/4 in. (178.1 × 148.7 × 13.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 55.139. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Foundering
Date
1863
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
59 5/8 x 48 1/16 in. (151.5 x 122 cm) frame: 70 1/8 × 58 9/16 × 5 1/4 in. (178.1 × 148.7 × 13.3 cm)
Inscriptions
Inscribed verso: "Foundering' / Jas Hamilton / Philada 1863"
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
Accession Number
55.139
Frequent Art Questions
What is the name of this painting?
Hi! The painting in question is "Foundering" (1863) by James Hamilton. The title refers to the Confederate ship "foundering" (or sinking), and not just literally---the dramatic lighting and atmospheric effects (a trademark of Hamilton's Romantic style) elevate this specific ship to a wider symbol. It's almost anticipating the outcome of the American Civil War, and the defeat of the Confederacy.Can you spot the Confederate flag on the mast? I love how it's almost obscured by the thick, bright, smears of paint. And it's being flown upside down, a sign of distress.Wow thank you, it's amazing!In the painting called “Foundering” by James Hamilton, can you tell us how many stripes there are in the flag at the top of the mast of the ship? We can’t count them because of the glare on the painting!
I only see three stripes on the flag, two red and one white and there is a field of blue in what would be the upper left corner (seen to the lower right in the painting because the flag is upside down as a signal of distress).The flag is meant to recreate the Confederate Flag that was in use from 1861 to the end of the Civil War. It did indeed have three stripes and a star for every state in the Confederacy in the blue field. The seascape is emblematic of the Civil War itself, the foundering ship symbolic of the failure of the Confederate cause.That’s what we thought! Thank you! Cool!
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