Frederick Judd Waugh

American, 1861-1940

Frederick Judd Waugh was an American painter best known for his dramatic seascapes, capturing the raw, unrelenting power of the ocean with a level of  intensity that set him apart in American marine painting. Born in Bordentown, New Jersey, Waugh received his formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before continuing his studies at the Académie Julian in Paris. His early career included a period in England, where he created coastal scenes along the rugged shores of Cornwall and the Channel Islands, refining his painterly technique.

Upon returning to the United States, Waugh settled in coastal New England, where he painted some of his most iconic works—turbulent, light-slashed waters rendered with bold brushwork and a sensitivity to the movement of waves. Though he occasionally ventured into portraiture and illustration, it was the sea that remained his enduring subject and passion. His paintings are neither sentimental nor abstract; instead, they reflect a studied observation of nature and a profound respect for its force and unpredictability.

Waugh also contributed camouflage designs for the U.S. Navy during World War I, applying his understanding of pattern and perception to military innovation. Today, his work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Ulrich Museum of Art, and numerous regional institutions, where it continues to evoke awe for its technical mastery and elemental power.