Night harbor with three ships, a crescent moon, and a bright burst of light over hills, with a fire glowing on the right.

The Bay of Bull Arms, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, Bonfires Lighted on t

A watercolor night scene of a calm bay, with a steamship and two sailing vessels at anchor under a crescent moon. A radiant burst of light and a glowing fire on the right suggest the celebratory bonfires lit to greet the cable fleet.

Look closer: A small glowing light on the water near the left-hand boat marks a lantern or buoy.

Artist: Robert Charles Dudley
Date: 1865–66
Medium: Watercolor over graphite with touches of gouache (bodycolor)
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Size: 3913 × 2661 px

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Public domain · The Metropolitan Museum of Art releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1866).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain=true)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Cyrus W. Field, 1892

19th century watercolor moonlight steamship transatlantic cable robert charles dudley night harbor newfoundland ships at anchor