Can't find the painting that you are looking for? No problem! We can paint any painting in any size, even if it's not listed on our website. Simply make a request and we will get back to you with a quote within a few hours.
Optional - receive your painting ready to hang. Note we are only able to ship framed paintings up to a certain size. Once the maximum size is reached, the framing option is automatically disabled. If ordered without a frame the painting will arrive rolled inside a protective tube with an extra 1.5" white canvas on all sides so you can easily frame it in any local frame shop.
Although Frederic Edwin Church is usually remembered as a landscape painter, there are much deeper layers to his work than simply portraying magnificent vistas and stunning scenes of unspoiled nature. In this oil on canvas piece from 1865, for example, many art critics have understood that Church was, to some extent, making a statement about the looming end of the Civil War, a conflict which took the lives of thousands of Americans and shaped the country itself through the most lethal war in American History.
Measuring more than two meters in width, the enormous painting is now in possession of Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington DC, where it can continue to be admired by the public in its East Wing. Initially, it was shown both in New York, where people would pay to gaze upon it and later in London and in both places it found great success with the public. As the country was embroiled in the fighting of the Civil War, the painting of a beautiful natural weather event was seen as a portent of the end of the war, as Union supporters often mentioned the aurora borealis, also called northern lights, itself as a heavenly sign from God himself of the divine distaste and the Confederacy.
The painting itself was inspired by sketches and descriptions provided by Church’s disciple, the arctic explorer Isaac Israel Hayes, produced on the latter’s travels to the Arctic Circle, during which he had experienced the natural light display in a January evening. Hayes himself was one of the people to publicly connect the northern lights to the Civil War, considering them to be a divine sign of the Union’s moral superiority. Upon returning from his travel in 1861, not only did he inspire Church, but he is said to have declared that he hoped to take the Republican flag to the ends of the Earth, with not a star removed from its Union.
Beyond its political significance, the piece can be considered as part of a broader collection, or polyptych, along with The Heart of the Andes, The Icebergs, and Rainy Season in the Tropics, which together form a arctic-tropical cycle beginning in 1859 and ending in this beautiful piece, which is also connected to the latter in that they both showcase natural light shows typical of their setting.
Real Oil Paints, Real Brushes, Real Artists, Real Art. The Certificate of Authenticity which arrives with every painting provides an assurance and verifies the authenticity of the hand painted fine art reproduction you purchased. Each oil painting is created by hand using only the finest canvas and oil paints available.
Important Notes About Your Painting:
If you have any request to alter your reproduction of Aurora Borealis,
you must email us after placing your order and we'll have an artist contact you.
If you have another image of Aurora Borealis
that you would like the artist to work from, please include it as an attachment. Otherwise, we will reproduce the above image for you exactly as it is.
Free shipping is included in the price of the painting. Once the painting is ready and dry enough to ship, we will roll it and ship it in a sturdy cardboard tube.
We always ship express via courier to ensure your order reaches you as soon as possible - normally within three business days. The total delivery time from the moment you place your order until the package is delivered to your door is normally between three to four weeks.
If, in the unlikely event you were dissatisfied with the painting after reviewing it in person, it can be returned for a full refund for up to 365 days after delivery.
When you receive the painting; you are free to return it for more revisions or else for a full refund minus our actual shipping cost -- which is, on average, $25 per painting.
1st Art Gallery provides a full warranty covering manufacturing and material defects for paintings purchased from our website. The warranty covers damage for normal use. Damage caused by incidents such as accidents or inappropriate use are not covered.
Depending on the degree of damage to the warranted painting, it will either be repaired or replaced. This warranty service is provided free of charge.
When purchasing a painting on its own, it will arrive rolled inside a secure tube with an extra 1.5" of white canvas on all sides so you can easily frame it in any local frame shop.
You may choose to purchase your painting framed, in which case, it will arrive "ready to hang". We offer more than 20 beautiful models, all hand finished and expertly assembled by our experienced framers.
Note that for safety reasons we can only frame up to a certain size. Once the maximum size is reached the framing option is automatically disabled.
If you are planning to frame your painting yourself,
use an existing frame, or frame it locally, you may choose to order your painting with a stretching service,
meaning that it will arrive mounted on wooden bars.
If you're considering not framing your painting at all, you may opt for a Gallery Wrap. The term Gallery Wrap refers to the way the canvas is stretched, which is by wrapping it around thick stretcher bars, about 1.5 inch thick, with the canvas being secured to the back rather than the sides of those bars.
All orders ship with UPS, FedEx or DHL and will arrive directly to your home or office. A tracking number will be emailed to you as soon as the order leaves our studio so you can track it online. All orders ship express and usually arrive within 4-5 days from the shipping date. Due to shipping restraints, many of our framed, stretched, and oversize paintings may take 6-21 days for arrival depending on the safest route determined by the postal service.