The Parting Cheer

The Parting Cheer is an 1861 genre painting by the British artist Henry Nelson O'Neil.^[1] It depicts a group of emigrants leaving Britain, likely for the British Empire. The scene is on the River Thames as a departing ship pulls away from the dock. The sailors and other on the deck and rigging wave to their friends and relatives on the shore. Unlike the mournful displays of emigration in some paintings of the Victorian era, this is broadly more upbeat portrayal. However, the expressions of the steerage passengers down below are more ambiguous.^[2]

The Parting Cheer
Artist	Henry Nelson O'Neil
Year	1861
Type	Oil on canvas, genre painting
Dimensions	132 cm × 186 cm (52 in × 73 in)
Location	National Maritime Museum, London

It was the only work that O'Neil submitted for display at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1861 at the National Gallery. Today the painting is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.^[3]