WattsOS
TO
Tragedy of the Sea
1916 · Oil on board
40 1/2 x 61 1/4 in. (102.9 x 155.6 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Louis Michel Eilshemius was an American painter working primarily in oil on canvas, known for lyrical landscapes and figural compositions that combined romantic subject matter with an idiosyncratic, often dreamlike formal approach. Active in the early twentieth century, he worked largely independent of major artistic movements, developing a personal visual language marked by luminous color and an emphasis on mood over anatomical precision. His work remained relatively obscure during his lifetime but has since been reconsidered for its distinctive sensibility within American modernism.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago