The Voyage of Life: Manhood

Original by Thomas Cole, 1842. Public domain. National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The third painting in Thomas Cole’s four-part series places the voyager amid rapids, towering rocks and a gathering storm. With the boat’s helm gone, he turns upward in prayer as a guardian angel watches from the clouds—a scene of trial, faith and endurance.

Featured in our story The Journey Makes You. Read the full story.

View the original at the museum — explore and download the public-domain image at no charge.

Landscape format. Sizes are the paper dimensions in inches, shown short side × long side: 8×12 is 12 inches wide × 8 inches high. Edge-to-edge trims a narrow strip at the sides to fit; Small white border preserves the complete image.

Fine art print — Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm (100% cotton, matte). Printed with archival pigment and water-based inks (giclée). Unframed.

Border — Choose Edge-to-edge for artwork that runs right to the edges of the paper (full bleed), or Small white border for a clean white margin around the artwork. Framing with a mat? A mat covers a thin strip around the edges of the print, so choose the small white border to keep the whole artwork in view.

Delivery — Made to order and shipped free within the US, rolled in a protective tube. Please allow 7–10 business days from order to delivery.

When it arrives — Thick cotton paper keeps a gentle curl after travelling rolled. Lay the print flat under a few heavy books for about a day before framing.

Import duties — Our prices do not include import duties, taxes or customs fees. If your order ships outside the US, any such charges are collected by the carrier on delivery and paid by the recipient.