Wender·Vista
San Salvador Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileThe Bahamas
out on the eastern edge of the Bahamas, alone in deep water

San Salvador Island

— — the first landfall of the New World.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A low island ringed by reef, set off by itself at the eastern edge of the Bahamas where the Atlantic falls away into water more than a mile deep. The interior is a chain of brackish lakes between low ridges of weathered limestone. The reefs drop straight off the western shore, which is why divers come for wall dives instead of beach dives. A small monument near Long Bay marks the traditional landing site of Columbus on 12 October 1492, although the exact landfall is still debated. The light at the end of the day is the colour the sea gives back. from the studio

from the studio
San Salvador Island
— bring it home

San Salvador Island, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about San Salvador Island

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

San Salvador is an outer island of the Bahamas, roughly 160 square kilometres in area and about 600 kilometres southeast of Nassau. It sits alone on its own bank in deep Atlantic water, with the seabed dropping past 4,000 metres a short distance offshore. The interior is dominated by a network of brackish inland lakes, the largest of which is Great Lake, separated by low limestone ridges. The island's permanent population is roughly 900, concentrated around Cockburn Town on the west coast.

— the water

The reefs on the western shore are the island's signature. Because the bank drops straight to abyssal depth within a few hundred metres of land, San Salvador is one of the few sites in the Atlantic where you can do a true wall dive from a shore-launched boat. Visibility commonly exceeds 30 metres. The Gerace Research Centre, formerly a U.S. Navy installation, anchors long-running coral and geomorphology programmes run by visiting universities.

— informed by Gerace Research Centre
— the year

San Salvador is the traditionally identified site of Columbus's first New World landfall on 12 October 1492, an identification proposed in the nineteenth century and adopted by the Bahamian government when the island was renamed in 1925. The Tainos called it Guanahani. Several markers stand around the island; the most visited is the cross on Long Bay. The exact landing point is still debated by scholars, with Samana Cay and a handful of other islands also proposed.

— informed by Wikipedia — Guanahani
— where
The Bahamas · San Salvador, The Bahamas
— elevation
0 m · 0 ft
— position
24.0500° N · 74.5000° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Cockburn Town
settlement
3 km SW
Long Bay
landing-site bay
5 km E
Great Lake
inland brackish lake
12 km N
Dixon Hill Lighthouse
kerosene lighthouse
N
San Salvador Island
Cockburn Town
Long Bay
Great Lake
Dixon Hill Lighthouse
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about San Salvador Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

San Salvador is an outer island of the Bahamas, about 600 kilometres southeast of Nassau, sitting alone on its own bank in deep Atlantic water at the eastern edge of the archipelago.

It is the traditionally identified site of Columbus's first New World landfall on 12 October 1492. The Tainos called it Guanahani. The exact landing point is still debated, with Samana Cay also proposed.

Roughly 160 square kilometres, with a permanent population of about 900 concentrated around Cockburn Town on the west coast. Much of the interior is taken up by brackish inland lakes.

The reefs on the western shore sit at the edge of a bank that drops past 4,000 metres within a short distance of land. That makes San Salvador one of the few Atlantic sites for true wall diving from a shore-launched boat.

A working kerosene-powered lighthouse on the northeastern shore, built in 1887 and still hand-lit nightly. It is one of the last manned hand-operated lighthouses in the western hemisphere.

The Bahamian government adopted the name San Salvador in 1925, replacing the earlier English name Watling's Island, in line with the nineteenth-century identification of the island as Columbus's first landfall.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with Bahamian roots, a diving connection, or an interest in the early Atlantic voyages. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The deep blues and pale coral palette reads well in coastal-modern, British Colonial, and quiet contemporary rooms. It also sits comfortably in a study with rattan, weathered teak, and unbleached linen.

The piece reads as deep coastal-modern, a calmer alternative to bright tropical prints. It pairs with reef blues, sand, and pale woods in interiors leaning toward biophilic and island-quiet design.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large or a four-tile Mural holds the wall. Above a console table, a Medium or a horizontal four-tile Mural reads in proportion. For a feature wall, the nine-tile Mural is the answer.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with moisture or splash. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation behind a stove or in a shower surround.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so it will not lift with normal cleaning. Skip abrasive pads and harsh solvents.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no licensing, no stock imagery, and no second source. Reid Wender curates each place that enters the atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

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