Half Moon on the Hudson — Henry Hudson's 1609 Voyage

"Very faire weather" — Half Moon on the Hudson captures Henry Hudson's historic voyage up the Hudson River in September 1609.

Hudson, sailing under contract with the Dutch East India Company (VOC), commanded the Halve Maen (Half Moon). He was searching for the elusive Northwest Passage to Asia. Instead, he found a river teeming with furs and fertile land that would eventually establish Dutch colonial claims to the region.

The passage depicted here is recorded in the ship's journal by officer Robert Juet: "in the morning being very faire weather, the wind South-east, we sayled up the River twelve leagues (...) The River is a mile broad: there is very high Land on both sides." The painting captures that fair weather morning — the tranquil water, the forested cliffs framing the river, and the small ship making her cautious way upstream into unknown territory.

Hudson travelled up the river for weeks before he turned back, by then convinced the river was not a path to Asia. But within a few years, the VOC established trading posts along the Hudson, and in 1624, New Amsterdam - later New York City - was founded. Hudson's name is preserved in both the river and the bay he explored.

This painting is built on primary sources including Juet's journal, the geography of the Hudson River, and the superb Half Moon replicas. It's signed GS in the lower right, dated 26 in the lower left, and will be on show at the Mall Galleries in September 2026 with the Royal Society of Marine Artists.