A View of Cape Stephens in Cook's Straits (New Zealand) with Waterspout, 1776

William Hodges painted this dramatic New Zealand seascape from observations made during Captain Cook's second voyage (1772-1775), on which Hodges served as the official expedition artist. The waterspout at Cook's Straits captures the dangerous conditions encountered in the Southern Ocean. Hodges was the first professionally trained European artist to visit and paint New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Hodges renders the waterspout with dramatic vertical energy against turbulent seas and lowering skies. The painting combines direct observation from sketches made at sea with the conventions of sublime landscape painting.