Return of the Dove to the Ark, 1851
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford, England
The subject for this painting comes from the Bible. After 40 days and 40 nights of rain, Noah sent a dove from the ark. It returned with an olive branch, letting Noah's family know that the flood would soon be over. Ruskin loved this painting and wanted to purchase it, but he was too late; another patron had already done so.