Bow Wave, oil on canvas, 1968 and Bow Wave – QE ll, oil on canvas, c. 1968.
Among Fitzgerald’s most unusual compositions involving the sea and the night sky, these two works were conceived of during a transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton, England. In both paintings, the bow of the boat is visible at the right, looming toward the horizon line. In one work, a bright full moon casts its light on the waves in the middle ground; and in the other scene, the yellow light emanating from two portholes illuminates the ship’s bow wave.
Throughout his life, Fitzgerald was a restless traveler — from Boston to Monterey by ship; numerous cross-country treks in his station wagon, capturing scenes from Santa Fe to Vermont; and across the Atlantic to islands off-shore of Ireland and Spain. He navigated an ever-changing art world of the 20th century from realism to abstraction.