#FineArtFriday:A French paddle tug bringing a barque into Boulogne Harbour in heavy weather by Thomas Bush Hardy

Artist: Thomas Bush Hardy (1842–1897)

Title: A French paddle tug bringing a barque into Boulogne harbour in heavy weather

Genre: marine art

Date: 19th century

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: Frame: 556 mm x 1162 mm x 75 mm; Painting: 332 mm x 945 mm

Collection: Royal Museums Greenwich

Current location: Royal Museums Greenwich

What I like about this painting:

I love seascapes and especially depictions of storms. There is something compelling about the ferocity of nature … unless you are caught up in it. Thomas Bush Hardy shows us this quite clearly.

In the foreground, rocks jut from the waves, lurking and ready to destroy any vessel that should be dashed against them.

A crowd has overloaded the pier, watching as several ships loaded with passengers are tossed violently, with a steam-tug attempting to bring one safely into the harbor. One can almost feel the passengers’ fear, hear their prayers.

I hope they all made it to shore unharmed.

I also hope the pier didn’t collapse under the weight of the onlookers.

Here on the eastern shore of the North Pacific, we expect the winter weather to be cold and rainy, with snow politely falling in the mountains where it belongs and rivers and streams keeping to their banks as they should.

Frankly the weather here has been frightful, to paraphrase a popular Christmas song. Western Washington State has been beset with torrential rains and severe flooding. Many communities are cut off because of roads and bridges that have been washed away. I am fortunate, in that my neighborhood is on higher ground, and while my extended family is impacted by road and bridge closures, they are all safe.

About this painting via Wikimedia Commons:

A French paddle tug bringing a barque into Boulogne harbour in heavy weather

A dramatic painting showing a French paddle tug bringing a barque into the port of Boulogne. The event takes place in very heavy weather and the sea is shown crashing against the harbour wall at Boulogne on the left. The paddle tug can be seen in the centre of the picture, flying the French flag. Her smoke belches out as she struggles through the mountainous sea to the aid of the barque shown behind the tug with her sails lowered. Wreckage can be seen in the foreground and there is other shipping in the distance. On the harbour wall a large crowd has gathered to witness the rescue. [1]

About the artist, via Thomas Bush Hardy – Government Art Collection:

(1842 – 1897)

Thomas Bush Hardy, marine artist, was born in Sheffield. As a youth he travelled to America, where he fought on the side of the Union during the Civil War of 1860 to 1865. He then lived in France and Holland, before returning to England. He is best remembered for his paintings of the River Thames and English coastal shipping scenes. He regularly exhibited work at the Royal Academy and the New Watercolour Society between 1871 and 1897 and, in 1884, was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. He died in London on 15 December 1897 and was survived by eight children, of whom three became artists, the most well-known being Dudley Hardy (1867-1922), a painter and illustrator. [2]

Credits and Attributions:

IMAGE: Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:A French paddle tug bringing a barque into Boulogne harbour in heavy weather RMG BHC2367.tiff,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:A_French_paddle_tug_bringing_a_barque_into_Boulogne_harbour_in_heavy_weather_RMG_BHC2367.tiff&oldid=995747273 (accessed December 17, 2025).

[1] Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:A French paddle tug bringing a barque into Boulogne harbour in heavy weather RMG BHC2367.tiff,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:A_French_paddle_tug_bringing_a_barque_into_Boulogne_harbour_in_heavy_weather_RMG_BHC2367.tiff&oldid=995747273 (accessed December 17, 2025).

[2]  Explore Thomas Bush Hardy, Department for Culture Media and Sport contributors, © 2025  Crown Copyright, https://artcollection.dcms.gov.uk/person/hardy-thomas-bush/ (accessed December 17, 2025).