Famous Seascape Paintings

Open water, breaking waves and long coastlines, painted by artists who loved the sea.

90 paintings, with works by Eugène Boudin, Winslow Homer, Gustave Courbet and John Frederick Kensett. Most often they suit the living room, bathroom and bedroom.

Showing 1 to 48 of 90 paintings

Painting of a beach on a cloudy day with several sailboats on the water, a few rowboats on the shore, and two groupings of people on the sand.

Claude Monet The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, 1867 Art Institute of Chicago

Impressionist sea landscape, tan houses, blue ocean, distant mountains.

Paul Cézanne The Bay of Marseille, Seen from L'Estaque, c. 1885 Art Institute of Chicago

Large marine landscape of boats on rough waves, storm clouds.

Joseph Mallord William Turner Fishing Boats with Hucksters Bargaining for Fish, 1837–38 Art Institute of Chicago

The Gulf Stream, Winslow Homer, 1899; reworked by 1906, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer The Gulf Stream, 1899; reworked by 1906 The Met

By the Seashore, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir By the Seashore, 1883 The Met

Whalers, Joseph Mallord William Turner, ca. 1845, oil on canvas

Joseph Mallord William Turner Whalers, ca. 1845 The Met

At the Seaside, William Merritt Chase, ca. 1892, oil on canvas

William Merritt Chase At the Seaside, ca. 1892 The Met

Cliffs on the Sea Coast: Small Beach, Sunrise (Falaise au bord de la mer, vu Petite Plage, soleil levant), Gustave Courbet, 1865, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet Cliffs on the Sea Coast: Small Beach, Sunrise (Falaise au bord de la mer, vu Petite Plage, soleil levant), 1865 Art Institute of Chicago

View of Genoa, Camille Corot, 1834, oil on paper, mounted on canvas

Camille Corot View of Genoa, 1834 Art Institute of Chicago

Sea View, Calm Weather (Vue de mer, temps calme), Édouard Manet, 1864, oil on canvas

Édouard Manet Sea View, Calm Weather (Vue de mer, temps calme), 1864 Art Institute of Chicago

The Departure of the Boats, Étretat, Claude Monet, 1885, oil on canvas

Claude Monet The Departure of the Boats, Étretat, 1885 Art Institute of Chicago

Vivid, lush view of rolling waves in purple, white, blue, and green against a bright blue sky with a watercolor-like blending of blues and purples. Sea and sky nearly become one.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Seascape, 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

Trouville (Grey and Green, the Silver Sea), James McNeill Whistler, 1865, oil on canvas

James McNeill Whistler Trouville (Grey and Green, the Silver Sea), 1865 Art Institute of Chicago

Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea, James McNeill Whistler, 1893, oil on canvas

James McNeill Whistler Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea, 1893 Art Institute of Chicago

Coast of Maine, Winslow Homer, 1893, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Coast of Maine, 1893 Art Institute of Chicago

Early Morning After a Storm at Sea, Winslow Homer, 1900–1903, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Early Morning After a Storm at Sea, 1900–1903 Cleveland Museum of Art

In the Waves (Dans les Vagues), Paul Gauguin, 1889, oil on canvas

Paul Gauguin In the Waves (Dans les Vagues), 1889 Cleveland Museum of Art

The Aegean Sea, Frederic Edwin Church, ca. 1877, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church The Aegean Sea, ca. 1877 The Met

Maine Coast, Winslow Homer, 1896, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Maine Coast, 1896 The Met

Moonlight, Wood Island Light, Winslow Homer, 1894, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Moonlight, Wood Island Light, 1894 The Met

Study for Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts, Winslow Homer, 1869 (?), oil on wood

Winslow Homer Study for Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts, 1869 (?) The Met

Cliffs at Deir el Bahri, Egypt, John Singer Sargent, 1890–91, oil on canvas

John Singer Sargent Cliffs at Deir el Bahri, Egypt, 1890–91 The Met

Sunset at Sea, John Singer Sargent, 1905–6 (?) or 1905–?6, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Sunset at Sea, 1905–6 (?) or 1905–?6 The Met

The Calm Sea, Gustave Courbet, 1869, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet The Calm Sea, 1869 The Met

The Fishing Boat, Gustave Courbet, 1865, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet The Fishing Boat, 1865 The Met

The Sea, Gustave Courbet, 1865 or later, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet The Sea, 1865 or later The Met

View of the Seacoast near Wargemont in Normandy, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1880, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir View of the Seacoast near Wargemont in Normandy, 1880 The Met

Sea and Cliffs, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, ca. 1885, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Sea and Cliffs, ca. 1885 The Met

Newport Mountain, Mount Desert, Frederic Edwin Church, 1851, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church Newport Mountain, Mount Desert, 1851 National Gallery of Art

We stand on a beach lined with black rocks and boulders looking out onto the water below a brick-red sky that dominates this nearly square landscape painting.

Gustave Courbet The Black Rocks at Trouville, 1865/1866 National Gallery of Art

This horizontal, rectangular painting is created entirely with dots and touches of sky and royal blue, butter and sunshine yellow, and spring green.

Georges Seurat Seascape (Gravelines), 1890 National Gallery of Art

A young woman with flushed, peachy skin stands on a rocky shoreline with a fishing net slung over one shoulder in this horizontal painting. Her body faces us, and she looks off and down to our right.

Winslow Homer A Light on the Sea, 1897 National Gallery of Art

Towering, sheer cliffs loom to our left, over a sunny beach scattered with boats in this horizontal landscape painting.

Gustave Courbet Beach in Normandy, c. 1872/1875 National Gallery of Art

Moss-green land rising to a tree-topped bluff follows the curve of a sandy beach surrounding a pale blue cove in this horizontal landscape painting.

Camille Corot Beach near Etretat, c. 1872 National Gallery of Art

From a rocky shoreline, we look on several light-skinned people working by the sea with a boat and a net in this freely painted, almost square seascape.

Thomas Gainsborough Seashore with Fishermen, c. 1781/1782 National Gallery of Art

Four boats with low masts sit on a sandy beach next to rocky cliffs under a cloud-filled sky in this horizontal landscape painting. Three of the boats are clustered together near the center of the composition.

Gustave Courbet Boats on a Beach, Etretat, c. 1872/1875 National Gallery of Art

Green hills roll back to a turquoise-blue sea in this almost square painting. The scene is built with layers of small dots in lavender, lilac, cool blue, warm green, yellow, and peach.

Georges Seurat Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, 1888 National Gallery of Art

A narrow strip of beach and then a vivid turquoise stretch of water give way to a towering, hazy sky in this square landscape painting.

Gustave Courbet Calm Sea, 1866 National Gallery of Art

From a high perspective, we look beyond two overlapping, emerald-green hills to a body of powder-blue water dotted with sailboats in this loosely painted horizontal landscape.

Claude Monet Cliffs at Pourville, 1882 National Gallery of Art

Two dark-skinned women stand facing each other on a dirt path that runs beside a body of water in this horizontal painting. One woman faces us and balances a flat tray loaded with white cloths on her head.

Camille Pissarro Two Women Chatting by the Sea, St. Thomas, 1856 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down onto a silvery-gray beach nestled in a hilly, curving coastline to our right in this horizontal landscape painting. A flat expanse of beach stretches in front of us to meet the water to our left.

Claude Monet Sainte-Adresse, 1867 National Gallery of Art

We look across a rocky, grass-covered promontory at a crumbling, round brick tower overlooking topaz-blue water in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole Italian Coast Scene with Ruined Tower, 1838 National Gallery of Art

Northeaster, Winslow Homer, 1895; reworked by 1901, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Northeaster, 1895; reworked by 1901 The Met

Marine: The Waterspout, Gustave Courbet, 1870, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet Marine: The Waterspout, 1870 The Met

Fog off Mount Desert, Frederic Edwin Church, 1850, oil on academy board

Frederic Edwin Church Fog off Mount Desert, 1850 National Gallery of Art

Sea Cove, Albert Bierstadt, ca. 1880–90, oil on wood

Albert Bierstadt Sea Cove, ca. 1880–90 The Met

A woman holding a baby stands near a young boy who perches in the tipped-up end of a rowboat that has been pulled onto a sandy beach in this horizontal painting. All the people have light skin.

Winslow Homer Dad's Coming!, 1873 National Gallery of Art

Barks Fleeing Before the Storm, Jules Dupré, 1870–75, oil on canvas

Jules Dupré Barks Fleeing Before the Storm, 1870–75 Art Institute of Chicago

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