The Voyage of Life: Youth

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

In the second painting of Thomas Cole’s four-part series, a young voyager takes the helm and looks toward a luminous castle in the clouds. Lush greenery and a radiant sky frame a vision of ambition, while the river turns toward the trials ahead.

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 top and bottom 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.