Harbor Light
The first National Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse at Cape Henlopen, Delaware
Harbor Light
by Ellen Rice
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The sound of water lapping gently against rocks and sandy shore. The distant cry of a gull. Sunlight dancing off clouds and calm sea. The pungent smell of ocean air and the feel of its salty mist on your face. Delaware artist Ellen Rice's luminous watercolor and pastel portrayal of the sun setting behind an East Coast breakwater lighthouse stirs quiet memories of moments at the shore — a harbor from the busy world. In "Harbor Light", once again, Ellen has captured the wonder and majesty of the eastern seacoast at sunset. "It is when I gaze on a beautiful sunset like this that I most feel the presence of God – a power and continuity and beauty far greater than anything man can ever create." The painting portrays the National Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse, better known as "the outer breakwater light," at Cape Henlopen, Delaware, at sunset. The outer breakwater lighthouse was built over a 4-year period, from 1897 to 1901, on the recommendation of Commodore William Bainbridge in a report to the Committee of Commerce. The "inner" breakwater was under construction to serve as a harbor of refuge for small craft at the time, but deeper hulled craft required more water, and before the inner gap was completed in 1898, stones were being placed for the "outer" breakwater. The new outer breakwater was authorized by the River and Harbor Act of June 3, 1896 and named "The National Harbor of Refuge , Delaware Bay, Delaware." It was constructed at a cost of more than $2 million with the use of steam derricks and larger stones than the inner breakwater on the line of least depth along the eastern branch of a shoal known as "The Shears" including a row of ice piers across the upper end of the harbor, it is 6,500 feet north of the inner breakwater and 7,950 feet long at water level. The steel lighthouse erected on the outer breakwater was erected on the east end in 1901 and remains virtually unchanged and in use today. "Harbor Light," like many of Ellen Rice's historic works, is more than a rendering if a building. "I didn't want to do just another lighthouse picture, I wanted to share my appreciation of the beauty around us." |
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