Embarkation of the Pilgrims
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This work documents a tearful group of English Puritans departing from their temporary home in Holland aboard the Speedwell, a ship that was to accompany the Mayflower to New England. Robert Weir based the picture on documentary evidence—written accounts, histories, and costume records—to enhance its authenticity. Painted during a period plagued by discrimination and its violent wake, Embarkation of the Pilgrims reminded viewers that much of the United States was settled by Europeans seeking freedom from religious persecution.
Caption
Robert Walter Weir American, 1803–1889. Embarkation of the Pilgrims, 1857. Oil on canvas, 48 1/8 × 72 1/4 in., 133 lb. (122.2 × 183.5 cm, 60.33kg) frame: 60 1/2 x 84 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (153.7 x 214.6 x 16.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, A. Augustus Healy Fund and Healy Purchase Fund B, 75.188. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 75.188_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Embarkation of the Pilgrims
Date
1857
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
48 1/8 × 72 1/4 in., 133 lb. (122.2 × 183.5 cm, 60.33kg) frame: 60 1/2 x 84 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (153.7 x 214.6 x 16.2 cm)
Signatures
Signed lower left: "Rob.t W. Weir. / 1857."
Credit Line
A. Augustus Healy Fund and Healy Purchase Fund B
Accession Number
75.188
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Is this the same painting that you can also find in the U.S. Capitol? It looks the same.
You're right! :)This reduced version of Weir's grand "Embarkation of the Pilgrims," painted in 1843 as part of a government commission for the decoration of the Capitol Rotunda in D.C.Could you tell me more about this piece?
Sure! "Embarkation of the Pilgrims" by Robert Walter Weir depicts the Pilgrims on the deck of the ship Speedwell in 1620. The figures at the center of the composition are William Brewster, holding the Bible; Governor Carver, kneeling; and pastor John Robinson, with extended arms. The departure (or embarkation) of the Speedwell was a big affair, although the ship had to turn back soon after and was eventually abandoned in favor of the larger Mayflower.Who are they?
"The Embarkation of the Pilgrims" shows a group of English travelers about to cross the Atlantic in 1620. The figures at the center of the composition are William Brewster, holding the Bible; Governor Carver, kneeling; and pastor John Robinson, praying in a black outfit. Meanwhile, the rest of the painting offers clues to who they are and what they are doing.Notice the very European buildings on the right signifying the place they are leaving behind. Also notice the rainbow on the left, a more important symbol of the hope for peace and prosperity they hope to find in the new land.Why is there a rainbow?
The rainbow is a symbol of hope for the new life the Puritans hope to lead in the New World! It's borrowed from the Old Testament story of Noah and the Ark.There is a very large print of the painting of the Embarking of the Pilgrims in the rotunda of the US Capitol building. Is that based off the one here?
In fact, it's the other way around! This painting from 1857 recreates Weir's commission for the Capitol issued in 1836. You've got a great visual memory!Thank you so much for your help today!
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