Two Naval Officers Shooting the SunMcClelland BarclayOil on canvas, 1941 The junior officer on the right is using a sextant to take a navigational reading, a task referred to aboard ship as “shooting the sun.” Before the days of global positioning, sailors used a sextant to measure the angle between the horizon and the noontime sun and thereby help determine latitude. Works by McClelland Barclay in the Navy Art Collection

Two Naval Officers Shooting the Sun
McClelland Barclay
Oil on canvas, 1941

The junior officer on the right is using a sextant to take a navigational reading, a task referred to aboard ship as “shooting the sun.” Before the days of global positioning, sailors used a sextant to measure the angle between the horizon and the noontime sun and thereby help determine latitude.

Works by McClelland Barclay in the Navy Art Collection