The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 5, 2026

A horizontally oriented oil painting is divided by a hazy horizon where blue-gray mountains meet still, reflective water. In the upper half, soft pink clouds drift across a muted sky. Numerous white sailboats cluster in the distance. At the center, two figures with light skin tones sit in a small boat, while another person rows to the right. Hazy, horizontal strokes and a desaturated palette convey a quiet, tranquil atmosphere.

Haverstraw Bay

1868

Sanford Robinson Gifford

(American, 1823–1880)
United States
oil on canvas
Unframed: 24.2 x 50.8 cm (9 1/2 x 20 in.)
Bequest of Dr. Paul J. Vignos Jr. 2011.43
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Commercial and recreational fishing for now endangered American shad is currently prohibited on the Hudson River.

Description

Located about 40 miles north of New York City, Haverstraw Bay is the widest point on the Hudson River. During the 1860s, it was a prime area for shad fishing, and Gifford’s painting records this activity taking place amid a delicately luminous morning haze.
  • Theodore Weston (about 1867-68) [possibly];
    -1965
    (Vose Balleries, Boston, MA, sold to Dr. and Mrs. Paul J. Vignos)
    1965-2011
    Dr. and Mrs. Paul J. Vignos, Jr. Chagrin Falls, OH by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2011-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Gifford, Sanford Robinson, and John Ferguson Weir. A Memorial Catalogue of the Paintings of Sanford Robinson Gifford. New York: Olana Gallery, NY: 1974. Reproduced: p. 33, no. 33
    Weiss, Ila. Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880). Ann Arbor, MI: Xerox University Microfilms, 1977. Mentioned: p. 271-271; Reproduced: VII K 6
    Weiss, Ila. Poetic Landscape: The Art and Experience of Sanford R. Gifford. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1987. Reproduced: p. 263
    Cole, Mark. "A Focused Look.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 1 (Winter 2021) 16. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 16.
  • Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Haverstraw Bay|url=false|author=Sanford Robinson Gifford|year=1868|access-date=05 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.43