![THE WRECKERS: On loan from the New Bedford Free Public Library, this magnificent oil painting of salvagers at work measures almost three by five feet. Gifford’s attempt to disprove critics maintaining he could only paint smaller pictures, the 1877 painting was sold to Merchants National Bank president Peleg Howland for $150. PHOTOS BY ROBERT BARBOZA/The Chronicle](https://www.southcoasttoday.com/gcdn/authoring/2007/06/21/NSTT/ghows-NB-e2da72d7-ba54-420f-b2aa-8443cbb87f08-adbdfe44.jpeg?width=600&height=374&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp) [[Gifford, Charles Henry (painter)|Charles Henry Gifford]], *[The Wreckers](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gifford,_Robert_Swain_—_The_Wreckers_—_1877.jpg)*, 1877. Oil on canvas. 35 x 56 in. New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, MA. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. - Note: this painting is incorrectly attributed to Robert Swain Gifford on Wikimedia Commons. Exhibition History: "Charles Henry Gifford, 1839-1904: An Artist's Journey," New Bedford Art Museum, 2007. Linked to: [[Chapter 1 - Recovery]]