White Perch (1 of 100 Limited Edition)

The Story

While known as a perch, this fish is really a member of the family of temperate basses. A study of detail in the perch when compared to its big brother, the striped bass, will reveal that they are similarly equipped with spines and fins. This is reflected in their scientific names Morone Saxatilis for the Striped Bass and Morone Americana for the white perch. 

The white perch is rarely anyone's trophy, but it is everyone's fish. It is the fish that fills the livewell on slow days, that children catch off docks, that old-timers still talk about frying whole in iron skillets. Shubert has painted it with the same precision and seriousness he brings to rockfish and osprey, and the result is a minor revelation: the white perch, examined closely, is a genuinely beautiful animal. The silver-gray flanks have a subtle iridescence, the spiny dorsal fin is rendered with delicate accuracy, and the eye has the same quiet alertness that characterizes all of Shubert's best fish portraits.

The Location

White perch are among the most abundant fish in the Chesapeake Bay system. They are found in virtually every tidal river and creek in the watershed, from the upper Bay's fresh and brackish tributaries down into the lower Bay's saltier waters. They spawn in the shallows each spring in concentrations that once defined the Bay's character as a working-class fishing resource. In the tidal Potomac, the Patuxent, and the Eastern Shore's countless creeks, the white perch remains the most accessible fish in the Bay.

Artist's Perspective

"Dedicated to my friend John, known locally as "the perch man." Celebrating summer light-tackle fishing from docks and breakwaters in southern Maryland." — Marty Shubert

Curator's Recommendation

Painted with the same background color as the Atlantic Bluefish and White Perch so that they can be easily combined. Combine the Striped Bass and the White Perch to accent the commonality in these fish.

Print Quality

Archival-Quality Canvas. Made in the USA with globally sourced materials.

Every Chesapeake Focus print is produced on archival-grade poly-cotton canvas using UL GREENGUARD GOLD certified inks — water resistant, fade resistant, and anti-yellowing. Each canvas is hand-stretched over kiln-dried stretcher bars that are knot-free and warp-free, then finished with your choice of hardwood floater frame in matte black, white, brown, or natural. Ready to hang right out of the box.

Stretcher bars sourced from FSC-certified, sustainably managed forests — a quiet nod to the landscapes our work celebrates.