Description

Launching the Buoy from the Bow of the Great Eastern (1865–66) by Robert Charles Dudley captures a pivotal moment in the transatlantic telegraph cable expedition. Painted in watercolor over graphite, the scene shows the massive iron ship Great Eastern releasing a buoy to mark the spot where the cable was lost—600 miles from Newfoundland—during an earlier failed attempt. With fine detail and atmospheric tension, Dudley reflects both technological ambition and emotional depth, memorializing one of the 19th century’s most audacious engineering feats.