Fitz Henry Lane was born in 1804 in Gloucester, Mass., and died in 1865 in the same town. As a child he lost the use of both of his legs and used crutches for the remainder of his life.
In the early 20th century, historians began identifying him as Fitz Hugh Lane and in 2004 it was discovered that his actual name was Fitz Henry Lane, which he has been referred to ever since.
His career started in printmaking in 1832 which lasted until 1848 when he switched to solely being a painter. During his time as a printmaker he also painted and his first paintings were exhibited at the Boston Athenaeum in 1841.
In 1848 he built himself a house and studio which is now open to the public and is located at the edge of Gloucester Harbor. It was in his 3rd floor studio that he spent the rest of his life painting Gloucester's busy harbor and traveled throughout Maine, Massachusetts and New York painting the bustling harbors of New England including Camden, Blue Hill, Castine, Southwest Harbor, Owls Head, Salem, Boston, Norwich and New Bedford.
His style was to become known as luminism emphasizing the use of light as a focal point. He was influenced strongly by Robert Salmon's paintings, which, at the time, portrayed meticulously wonderfully rendered sky and atmosphere.
His many lithographs were varied in nature and included music sheets, business trade cards, advertisements and panoramic views of towns and harbors around New England.
One of these harbor views was "View of New Bedford from the Fort near Fairhaven." It was in this scene that Lane captured the bustling harbor with several ships against a coastal city with its docks and wharfs teaming with ships. In the harbor is seen the sidewheel steamship "Massachusetts" and the whaler "Orozimbo" and the half Brig "Tarterno." Several figures are seen on a fence in the foreground as if you had joined them on the fence to gaze over the harbor.
This view of New Bedford Harbor was captured in an oil painting by Lane in the later 1840s and will be sold as the highlighted item in Julia's upcoming spectacular summer auction in August of 2016.
For those interested in Fitz Henry Lane's life & work, the Cape Ann Museum is a wonderful stop and they have the largest collection of Lane's works on view in their recently renovated exhibit rooms.