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Sketch for "Approaching Thunder Storm"

Martin Johnson Heade · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.002,250 × 1,740 px · 3.9 MP
Prints gallery-sharp up to7.5 × 5.8 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 15 × 11.6 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 · $0.00Sketch for "Approaching Thunder Storm" by Martin Johnson Heade
The set builder

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Art, frame, light and hanging gear, picked together. Choose a size and finish; the wall preview shows exactly what you're getting. One button sends the whole kit to your Amazon cart.

Sketch for "Approaching Thunder Storm" in a frame
16 × 20 in
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 in217Sharp up close3%
14 × 11 in158Poster sharp2%
16 × 12 in140Fine across a room3%
20 × 16 in108Fine across a room3%
24 × 18 in93Too soft3%
36 × 24 in62Too soft14%
40 × 30 in56Too soft3%
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

Sketch for "Approaching Thunder Storm" is a work on paper by Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904). Graphite on off-white wove paper. Size on the museum record: 8 11/16 x 11 1/2 in. (22.1 x 29.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its The American Wing collection — Morris K. Jesup Fund, 2000.

Sketch for "Approaching Thunder Storm" is a graphite on off-white wove paper by Martin Johnson Heade, part of The Met's open-access collection. The museum gives no firm date for it; it sits in the The American Wing department as accession 2000.142. 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 2,250 × 1,740 pixels, which prints about 7.5 × 5.8 in at 300 dpi and 15.0 × 11.6 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Its wide proportions sit naturally over a sofa, console or bed, and the crop figures in the set builder show what a standard frame would trim. It is close to monochrome, so the frame sets the mood: black for contrast, white for air, or a thin natural wood for warmth. Works on paper are quiet. Print near the original's scale instead of blowing it up, and keep it out of direct sun like the museum does. 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 2,250 × 1,740 pixels — 3.9 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 7.5 × 5.8 in. The work on paper itself measures about 11.5 × 8.7 in, so a true life-size print runs below 300 dpi — still sharp at normal viewing distance.Works on paper are quiet. Print near the original’s size rather than blowing it up, mat it generously, and keep it out of direct sun — the same rules the museum follows for the real one.

On the receipt

Artist
Martin Johnson Heade
Medium
Graphite on off-white wove paper
Size
8 11/16 x 11 1/2 in. (22.1 x 29.2 cm)
Museum
The Met · The American Wing
Accession
2000.142
License
Public domain · CC0 1.0
Source
Museum record ↗