De Haas must have spent time in quiet reflection, relaxing at this shore, to have been able to so completely detail it in this picture. Several East Coast citizens have related that they believe they know which specific locale it depicts, yet no two have mentioned the same cove, from Delaware to North Boston. Our professional hunch it is a Long Island shore, possibly near Greenport with the large and distant headland of what would then be Connecticut across Long Island Sound.
We do know that billowing cumulus clouds hold the heavy coastal atmosphere in the distance while the fading day's colors complete the sky above with cirrus streaks. A warm and well-dressed couple watch three men launch the row boat into the surf break. A solitary man works at a fishing net on shore. East Coast adventurer and artisan de Haas specialized in just such beautiful depictions of the world's shores, and found great success in America During his lifetime. This painting holds the elements of light and luminosity that make his works sought after prizes by collectors and connoisseurs alike.
The painting's spectacular heavy carved gilt frame is of the period. It confines and broadens the emotional impact of the painting, which either the artist or his patron personally selected. The elaborate gilt relates well to the deep tones in the work, in contrast to the bright wind-topped froth and rolling pastel green surf. A graceful schooner clears the coastal waters for the Atlantic open. Still, this is a painting which excels at its overall composition and the effects of the atmosphere and sense of timelessness which de Haas held in his artistic command.
