How you can use this image
This image is available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC).
This image can be reproduced in any way apart from any commercial uses.
Wherever you reproduce the image or an altered version of it, you must attribute the original creators (acknowledge the original artist(s), the person/organisation that took the photograph of the work) and any other stated rights holders.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find more images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
DownloadNotes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
The painting can be viewed both at a distance and at close quarters. Overall it provides a view of rolling waves crashing on to the rocks at Clay Head, Lonan, looking north along the coast to Laxey. It probably depicts a winter storm judging by the cold icy colour of the water and the sea boiling like a giant cauldron. On closer inspection, one can see the wrack (seaweed) left by the storm hanging off the rocks, a lone black bird flying over the waves (probably a shag or a cormorant) and the smaller gulls flying over or sheltering in amongst the rocks. At a distance, you might assume the rocks and waves to be five to ten feet high, but when you look at the relative size of the birds against the rocks, the scale increases dramatically. On the right-hand side of the painting is a tiny detail, easily missed, of a ship on the horizon struggling in the storm.
Manx Museum
Douglas
Title
Clay Head
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 67 x W 119 cm
Accession number
1954-5951
Work type
Painting
