The artwork titled “Shad Fishing at Gloucester on the Delaware River” was created by artist Thomas Eakins in 1881. Rendered in oil on canvas, this piece is representative of the Realism art movement and falls under the genre of genre painting. It is currently housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
The artwork illustrates a scene of fishermen engaged in shad fishing along the Delaware River at Gloucester. The composition depicts a group of fishermen donning yellow rain gear as they pull heavy nets laden with fish from the river’s edge to the shore. The river, calm and expansive, serves as the backdrop for this labor-intensive activity, with boats anchored strategically near the workers. The horizon reveals a modest landscape with sparse greenery and distant industrial structures, suggesting a connection between nature and human enterprise. The detailed portrayal of the fishermen’s efforts, the serene water, and the composed sky reflect Eakins’ commitment to capturing the authentic essence of the working class and their environment during this period.
