Beyond allusions to Hartley's seascapes, such as the white foam, dark
sky and lobster - red figures of Surfer (2015), there are associations to the tragic allegory of Nine Bell's Folly (1933), his
striking nocturnal commemoration of the poet Hart Crane's suicide at
sea, featuring eyes in the waves
and apocalyptic commotion in the
sky.
On the other hand, «Four Masted,» a boldly silhouetted ghost ship,
strikes one as closer to the work of the visionary Albert Pinkham Ryder, but here the ship hovers trembling above the
sea and pier against a glowing mauve
sky.