Albert Pinkham Ryder (American, 1847-1917). <em>The Waste of Waters is Their Field</em>, early 1880s. Oil on panel, 11 5/16 x 12 in. (28.8 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 14.556 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 14.556_SL1.jpg)

Albert Pinkham Ryder (American, 1847-1917). The Waste of Waters is Their Field, early 1880s. Oil on panel, 11 5/16 x 12 in. (28.8 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 14.556 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 14.556_SL1.jpg)

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What poem by Robert Southey inspired this?

The poem is called "The Voyage." It recounted the ocean voyage of a medieval king across the ocean to the New World: "Day after day, day after day the same . . . A weary waste of waters!"

Southey was an English poet active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Waste of Waters is Their Field

Albert Pinkham Ryder

American Art

Albert Pinkham Ryder based this seascape on a poem by the Englishman Robert Southey that recounted the ocean voyage of a medieval king to the New World: “Day after day, day after day the same,— / A weary waste of waters!” Ryder was regarded as a visionary and experimental painter among artists. He often addressed the theme of human destiny, as played out in literature or the Bible. Influenced by modern European art, he rendered his subjects with highly simplified or expressively exaggerated forms and densely textured surfaces that challenged the visual expectations of his American audience.

ARTIST Albert Pinkham Ryder, American, 1847-1917

MEDIUM Oil on panel

DATES early 1880s

DIMENSIONS 11 5/16 x 12 in. (28.8 x 30.5 cm) frame (observed Feb 2016): 19 1/4 x 20 1/8 x 4 1/4 in. (48.9 x 51.1 x 10.8 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Unsigned

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 14.556

CREDIT LINE John B. Woodward Memorial Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Albert Pinkham Ryder (American, 1847-1917). The Waste of Waters is Their Field, early 1880s. Oil on panel, 11 5/16 x 12 in. (28.8 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 14.556 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 14.556_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 14.556_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What poem by Robert Southey inspired this?

The poem is called "The Voyage." It recounted the ocean voyage of a medieval king across the ocean to the New World: "Day after day, day after day the same . . . A weary waste of waters!"

Southey was an English poet active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.