John Whorf was born in Boston in 1903. His father, Harry Whorf, was an artist and graphic designer. When John decided at a young age to become an artist himself, his father provided early instruction and encouragement. When he was 14, Whorf enrolled in art classes at the St. Botolph Studio and the Museum of Fine Arts School, but ultimately he eschewed formal training, opting instead to simply “paint.” As with most artists, Whorf longed to travel abroad. After recovering from an accident that left him temporarily paralyzed, he set out on his first journey to Europe at the age of eighteen. During that time, he began painting with watercolor, and found that it suited him and his lifestyle better than oils. A difficult medium to master, watercolor requires that an artist work quickly, almost intuitively.

Whorf’s ability to capture natural colors and blend them with shadow and light earned him renown. In 1924 he had his first one-man show at the Grace Horne Gallery in Boston. More than fifty of his paintings sold during that exhibition, and his reputation as a leading watercolorist was secured. Throughout his life, Whorf exhibited in galleries in New York and Boston. And in 1947 he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design.

Whorf created realist depictions of urban and rural imagery, but his finest inspiration came from the Cape Cod landscape, where he ultimately settled. As a whole, his works have the uncanny ability to take his viewer to the everyday scenes of Provincetown as well as to the more exotic locales of Europe and North Africa. Like Winslow Homer before him, Whorf found great inspiration in the Bahamian landscape and Ships in a Harbor is a wonderful example from this body of work. The fluid brushwork and extraordinary color deftly captures the landscape and transports the viewer into the scene.