VISUAL ACTIVITY
New York Harbor This portrait of New York harbor about 1756 illustrates the importance of Atlantic commerce to the prosperous city in the background. The painting emphasizes a variety of oceangoing ships in the foreground. During its busiest seasons, the harbor commonly had ten times as many ships at anchor, which was nearly impossible for the artist to depict.
READING THE IMAGE: How does the painting reflect New York’s participation in Atlantic commerce?
CONNECTIONS: Why were port cities the largest and most prosperous cities in eighteenth-century America?
© Collection of the New-York Historical Society, USA/Bridgeman Images.