Ocracoke Harbor (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- This oil painting depicts Ocracoke Island, the island’s harbor, and its historic lighthouse.
- This work is an example of a high key landscape painting. The values (the lightness or darkness of a color) in a high key painting are mostly light tones without dark shadows.
- Claude Howell was a North Carolina artist known for his broad, flat-color paintings that depict the North Carolina coast.
Learn More
Artist Claude Howell was a native of Wilmington who spent his career painting landscape scenes of the North Carolina coast. He loved the remoteness of Ocracoke Island before, as he put it, “the tourists found it.” The island’s fishermen, sand dunes, and open spaces inspired hundreds of Howell’s sketches. He made his sketches outdoors and took them back to his studio to use as a reference for his paintings.
I am using this subject matter because I know it.
Claude Howell
Howell established the art department at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1953. He chronicled the people and places in his surroundings throughout his career. In 1965, the year after Howell painted Ocracoke Harbor, he suffered a form of poisoning that left him completely paralyzed. He was hospitalized for months and spent two years relearning to draw and paint.
Ocracoke Harbor is a work Howell created using a high key painting technique. He used mostly light values, staying in the upper half of the value scale (midtones to white), with minimal darks to create a bright, airy, uplifting, or joyous feeling. The all-white lighthouse on Ocracoke Island is a recognizable landmark in this painting.
Throughout the 1800s the Ocracoke Lighthouse guided ships into the harbor with goods bound for the mainland. Since then the islanders have survived on fishing and tourism. This lighthouse is the oldest one in the state that is still in use. It continues to serve as a navigational aid for ships. Although it is a functioning lighthouse, the tower itself is not open to visitors.
Long before the lighthouse was constructed, Blackbeard the pirate was killed by the British Navy in the waters off the Ocracoke Harbor. Today the island is accessible only by boat and small aircraft.
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Watch a documentary film about Howell’s life and artistic career.
- Explore a web page for ideas about teaching students how to create high key paintings.
- View photos of the Ocracoke Lighthouse and explore the history of this NC landmark and the surrounding harbor.
Resources for Students
- Read the artist’s biography.
- Visit a website to view other paintings by Howell.
- Watch a video to discover the differences between high key and low key painting.
Images
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Ocracoke Harbor