The Voyage of Life: Manhood
Thomas Cole, 1842
The boat hits the rapids and the sky goes to court. The pilgrim is grown now, and the angel is far. Life, in the middle, does not look like a hymn.
About this work
Manhood is the third of the four paintings in Thomas Cole's series The Voyage of Life, an allegory of the stages of human life. In each picture a voyager travels in a boat down the River of Life through an American wilderness, watched over by a guardian angel, and each landscape stands for a season. In Childhood an infant glides out of a dark cave into a green landscape; in Youth the boy steers for a shining castle in the sky; here, in Manhood, the grown man has lost the tiller and relies on prayer and faith to carry him through rapids and a threatening landscape; in Old Age the angel guides him across the waters of eternity. Cole, regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, painted the first set on commission in 1840. A dispute with the owner over public exhibition led him to paint a second set in Rome in 1841–42, which toured American cities. The first set is in the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, New York; this second set is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Sources: Wikipedia · National Gallery of Art
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 5,272 × 3,468 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 35 × 23 in
- Sizes
- Small (20 × 13 in) · $100 · 264 ppi
Medium (24 × 16 in) · $150 · 217 ppi
Large (36 × 24 in) · $300 · 145 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of The Voyage of Life: Manhood?
Here. The Voyage of Life: Manhood is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (20 × 13 in) for $100, Medium (24 × 16 in) for $150 and Large (36 × 24 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for The Voyage of Life: Manhood?
The file is 5,272 × 3,468 px. Medium (24 × 16 in) is the largest size that prints at 150 ppi or more (217 ppi), the sharpest choice for close viewing; Large (36 × 24 in) prints at 145 ppi, fine from a few feet away but softer up close.
Is it legal to print The Voyage of Life: Manhood?
Yes. The Voyage of Life: Manhood is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
