Both romantic and realistic, this timeless work by Herman Herzog was painted more than a century ago near Morocco’s Atlantic coast city of Tangiers, a sentinel to the Strait of Gibraltar. Traveling through North Africa, one might still see such a scene today. The artist was born in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, then an autonomous republic within the German Federation. He studied at the Royal Art Academy in Düsseldorf but honed his skill at capturing luminous light and exotic vegetation, as seen here, during his extensive travels. By the time he immigrated to the United States in 1876, he had already established a significant reputation; his works were collected by royalty. His distinguished patrons included: Queen Victoria of England, Grand Duke Alexander of Russia (later Czar Alexander II), The Queen of Hanover, The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and The Countess of Flanders. Herzog continued to travel and paint widely throughout his life, including trips to Norway, the American West (Yosemite), and especially Florida from the mid-1880s until around 1912. He created over 300 oil paintings of that state's natural beauty. He was drawn to the region to visit his son, a chemistry professor in Gainesville. In his later years, he was financially independent and painted for the pure pleasure of it. Signature: Lower right (photo #6)