The Slave Ship

This article is about the painting. For other uses, see Slave ship (disambiguation).

The Slave Ship
Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhon coming on
ArtistJ. M. W. Turner
Year1840
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions91 cm × 123 cm (36 in × 48 in)
LocationMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Slave Ship, originally titled Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhon coming on,[1] is a painting by the British artist J. M. W. Turner, first exhibited at The Royal Academy of Arts in 1840.

Measuring 35+3⁄4 in × 48+1⁄4 in (91 cm × 123 cm) in oil on canvas, it is now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In this classic example of a Romantic maritime painting, Turner depicts a ship visible in the background, sailing through a tumultuous sea of churning water and leaving scattered human forms floating in its wake. Turner was possibly moved to paint The Slave Ship after reading about the slave ship Zong in The History and Abolition of the Slave Trade[2] by Thomas Clarkson the second edition of which was published in 1839. The initial exhibition of the painting in 1840 coincided with international abolitionist campaigns. As the piece changed hands in subsequent years, it was subject to a wide array of conflicting interpretations. While the work is generally admired for its spectacular atmospheric effects, there are conflicting opinions about the relationship between its style and its subject matter.

  1. ^ Turner's title, with period spelling of typhoon. [1]
  2. ^ Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages A Global History, Volume II. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2008, p. 795.