Joshua Shaw|Washington Allston

Joshua Shaw started life as a British soldier before he swapped his uniform for a painter’s brush. He moved to America in the early 1800s, drawn by the new nation’s energy and open land. Shaw became one of the first artists to paint the raw beauty of the frontier—wide skies, towering pines, and the tiny figures of settlers who looked both brave and small against the wilderness.

His style leaned toward dramatic skies and stormy moods. In *The Deluge Towards Its Close*, he piles up dark clouds and swirling water to show nature’s power after the flood. The figures cling to broken trees, their faces lit only by the last dull light of day. Critics at the time said even Benjamin West, a famous painter of Bible scenes, admired Shaw’s bold handling of such a heavy subject.

Look for his skies—they’re never calm. Shaw’s storms roll in like boulders, and his light fades fast, almost like candle smoke. You’ll recognize a Shaw painting by the way the earth seems to tremble under the weight of the sky.