Floating Iceberg, Canada

Frederic Edwin Church's pencil sketch captures a massive iceberg in profile, rendered with precise linear hatching to convey form and volume. The composition emphasizes the berg's scale through its horizontal expanse across the page, with a small human or boat figure at left providing spatial reference. Church, a leading Hudson River School painter, made extensive sketches during travels to document geological and natural phenomena. This working study demonstrates the artist's method of direct observation—gathering visual information in the field before developing large-scale paintings in the studio. The iceberg became a recurring motif in Church's work, representing the sublime power of nature and the American landscape.