Renowned for his maritime paintings and documentation of the American Civil War, Xanthus Russell Smith produced sweeping scenes of navy ships in all states—in the thick of battle, resting at docks, majestically afloat, and wrecked by war. While enlisted in the Union navy, Smith documented the warships, encampments, and naval engagements by which he was surrounded in exquisite, naturalistic detail. Smith would also produce landscapes and experiment with portraiture and figure studies.