1835-1886. Silva developed a reputation as a marine painter. He became known for exaggerating and intensifying natural effects of light and air for poetic purposes. His subtle manipulation of light and atmosphere was an aesthetic device that transcended naturalism and became an almost abstract means of expressing sentiment. Silva became known as one of the leaders in the American Luminist movement.
By 1870, Silva had evolved, for a self-taught artist, a remarkably skillful technique and a repertoire of marine subject and atmospheric effects that varied little for the rest of his life.