Lighthouses in Art and Literature
There's something about a lighthouse that demands to be written about, painted, photographed, and filmed. Perhaps it's the dramatic setting - that liminal space where land meets sea, safety meets danger, light meets darkness. Whatever the reason, lighthouses have inspired an extraordinary body of creative work across centuries and cultures.
Here's a journey through the most significant lighthouses in art and literature - and what makes them such enduring subjects.
Literature: Towers of Meaning
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (1927)
The most famous lighthouse in literature isn't about a lighthouse at all - it's about time, memory, and the gap between desire and fulfilment. The Ramsay family's planned trip to the Skye lighthouse (inspired by Godrevy lighthouse in Cornwall) is perpetually postponed, becoming a symbol for everything we reach toward but can never quite grasp.
Woolf's novel transformed the lighthouse from a practical structure into a literary symbol of aspiration, loss, and the passage of time.
The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman (2012)
Set on a fictional island lighthouse off Western Australia, Stedman's novel explores the moral consequences of a keeper's impossible decision. The lighthouse setting - remote, self-contained, far from the judgment of society - creates a perfect pressure cooker for an ethical dilemma.
Adapted into a film in 2016, starring Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.
The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter - Hazel Gaynor (2018)
Based on the true story of Grace Darling's heroic rescue at Longstone lighthouse, Gaynor's novel interweaves the 1838 rescue with a parallel modern-day story, exploring how acts of courage echo across generations.
The novel brought Grace Darling's remarkable story to a new audience nearly two centuries later.
Flannan Isle - Wilfrid Wilson Gibson (1912)
Gibson's haunting poem about the disappearance of three keepers from the Flannan Isles lighthouse remains one of the most atmospheric poems in the English language. Its spare, factual tone makes the mystery even more chilling.
Painting: Light, Solitude, and Drama
Lighthouses offer painters everything they could want: dramatic light, strong vertical forms, atmospheric weather, and a built-in narrative of human struggle against nature.
Edward Hopper
The great American painter of solitude was obsessed with lighthouses. "The Lighthouse at Two Lights" (1929) and "Light at Two Lights" (1927) capture the stark beauty and isolation of the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse in Maine. Hopper painted lighthouses throughout his career, drawn to their geometric simplicity and emotional resonance.
J.M.W. Turner
Turner's lighthouse paintings are studies in light and atmosphere. "The Bell Rock Lighthouse" (1819) shows the tower emerging from violent seas, its light a fragile point of order amid chaos - a perfect Turner subject.
Claude Monet
Monet painted the lighthouse at Honfleur multiple times, capturing it in different lights and seasons. As an Impressionist, he was drawn to the way the tower's white surface absorbed and reflected the changing coastal light.
Winslow Homer
Homer's rugged coastal scenes frequently feature lighthouses as anchoring elements in compositions dominated by sea and sky. His work captures the New England coast with unsentimental honesty.
Film: Towers of Terror and Redemption
The Lighthouse (2019)
Robert Eggers' black-and-white psychological horror film, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, uses the lighthouse setting to explore madness, isolation, and power. Shot in stark 1.19:1 aspect ratio, the film turns the lighthouse into a claustrophobic nightmare.
Shutter Island (2010)
Scorsese's thriller uses the lighthouse as a symbol of truth - the destination where reality is finally confronted. The lighthouse is literally the endpoint of the protagonist's journey toward self-knowledge.
The Light Between Oceans (2016)
Based on Stedman's novel, this film beautifully captures the visual poetry of lighthouse life - the vast ocean, the tiny human figures, the revolving beam cutting through darkness.
Why Lighthouses Inspire
What is it about lighthouses that makes them such powerful creative subjects? A few recurring themes emerge:
Light vs Dark
The fundamental metaphor: knowledge vs ignorance, hope vs despair, safety vs danger. A lighthouse is the oldest symbol of guidance there is.
Isolation
The lighthouse as a space apart from society - a place where characters confront themselves without distraction. A natural stage for psychological drama.
Duty
The keeper's unwavering commitment to the light mirrors broader themes of responsibility, sacrifice, and service to others.
As long as lighthouses stand, they will continue to inspire. They are, quite literally, built to be seen - and that visibility extends far beyond the physical beam into the realm of human imagination.
Find your inspiration
Explore our index to discover the lighthouses that inspired great art and literature.
Browse LighthousesSee you at the light,
The Lighthouse Index Team