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Approaching Thunder Storm

Martin Johnson Heade · 1859 · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.001,959 × 1,245 px · 2.4 MP
Prints gallery-sharp up to6.5 × 4.2 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 13.1 × 8.3 in at 150 dpi

The download is the Met's own open-access file, served by the Met. Big file — give it a minute.

Free · $0.00Approaching Thunder Storm by Martin Johnson Heade, 1859
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Approaching Thunder Storm in a frame
16 × 20 in
Approaching Thunder StormMartin Johnson Heade · 1859
See it over your couch →
1 · Size

2 · Frame

3 · Light

4 · Hang it right

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The size chart

How big can you print it?

Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

FrameEffective dpiVerdictCrops
10 × 8 in155Poster sharp21%
14 × 11 in113Fine across a room19%
16 × 12 in103Fine across a room15%
20 × 16 in77Too soft21%
24 × 18 in69Too soft15%
36 × 24 in51Too soft5%
40 × 30 in41Too soft15%
Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

Approaching Thunder Storm is a painting by Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904), dated 1859. Oil on canvas. Size on the museum record: 28 x 44in. (71.1 x 111.8cm) Framed: 42 1/2 × 58 3/8 × 5 in. (108 × 148.3 × 12.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its The American Wing collection — Gift of Erving Wolf Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Erving Wolf, in memory of Diane R. Wolf, 1975.

The Met catalogs Approaching Thunder Storm as an oil on canvas by Martin Johnson Heade. The museum dates it 1859, and files it under accession 1975.160 in The American Wing. The subject is water and weather, so the sky-to-sea balance carries the picture; keep the horizon level when you hang it. The Met's scan measures 1,959 × 1,245 pixels, which prints about 6.5 × 4.2 in at 300 dpi and 13.1 × 8.3 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Because it runs wide, it wants a horizontal frame; check the crop percentage for each size before you commit. Its warm reds and oranges suit walnut or gold, which deepen the glow instead of washing it out. Paintings reproduce best on matte paper, since gloss throws glare across exactly the brushwork you came for. A warm picture light a few inches above the frame does more for a print than any paper upgrade, and the hanging centre line belongs near 57 inches.

The Met released its scan under CC0, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 1,959 × 1,245 pixels — 2.4 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 6.5 × 4.2 in. The painting itself measures about 44 × 28 in, so a true life-size print runs below 300 dpi — still sharp at normal viewing distance.Paintings reproduce best on matte paper. Gloss throws glare across exactly the brushwork you came for, and a picture light does more for a print than any upgrade in paper.

On the receipt

Artist
Martin Johnson Heade
Date
1859
Medium
Oil on canvas
Size
28 x 44in. (71.1 x 111.8cm) Framed: 42 1/2 × 58 3/8 × 5 in. (108 × 148.3 × 12.7 cm)
Museum
The Met · The American Wing
Accession
1975.160
License
Public domain · CC0 1.0
Source
Museum record ↗