Pages 18-27 - Marine Art Quarterly

1. The Approach

Within range of the battery of Fort Aboukir – HMS Goliath was the first British ship to engage the French fleet. She’s seen here taking the full force of their initial fire. In the distance on the far right the French brigs Allerte and Raileur are seen returning to port after unsuccessfully trying to lure the British ships onto Aboukir reef.

2. GOLIATH’s Broadside

Soon the rest of the British fleet was into the action. Here HMS Goliath is seen firing her own broadside while behind her HMS Zealous and Nelson’s flagship HMS Vanguard are about to cross the French line consisting of Guerrier, Conquerant, Spartiate, Aquilon and 13 others. To the right a mortar ketch fires into the British fleet.

3. The Landward Side

When the 74-gun HMS Orion (seen to the left of the fort) first fired it was at the smaller 36-gun frigate Serieuse. Orion’s full double-shotted broadside dismasted her and shattered her hull—which soon sank her. To Serieuse’s left is seen the French frigate Artemise, to Orion’s right HMS Goliath, Zealous and Theseus who is just rounding the French line.

4. L’ORIENT’S Death Throes

As the battle progressed and night fell, the British hoisted four lamps horizontally for identification. Orion is seen here with her lamps lit pounding the French 80-gun Le Franklin. Astern, L’Orient is engulfed by flames. Her spectacular explosion, whose flaming remnants set many other ships on fire, is just a matter of time.

After having spent most of his summer looking for Admiral Brueys’ Toulon fleet throughout the Western Mediterranean. Rear Admiral Nelson and his fleet of ships came upon Breuys as the French lay at anchor in Aboukir Bay. Breuys ships had just landed Napoleon’s army on their way to the conquest of

Egypt and had settled into a well-protected anchorage. Nelson sighted them in the late afternoon when only a few hours of daylight remained. Conventional tactics dictated that he wait until the next day to attack. But once again Nelson proved anything but conventional. Surprising even his own captains he

Tim Thompsonordered his ships to attack and thus began an engagement that lasted all night. The key moment in the Frenchmen’s eventual defeat came at 10:00pm when their flagship, the gigantic 120-gun L’Orient blew up with a tremendous explosion. At dawn the casualties numbered 4 French ships completely destroyed and

nine badly damaged. The French had no choice but to surrender, securing one of Britain’s greatest naval victories and catapulting Nelson to national hero status. In this set of meticulously researched oil paintings each measuring 20” x 40”, Tim Thompson recreates the four decisive moments of the battle.

Battle of the Nile August 1, 1798

20 2120 21

Noteworthy New Books

America and the SeaTreasures from theCollection of Mystic SeaportStephen Lash Clothbound $39.95Yale University Press159 pp ISBN: 0300114028To Order: yalepress.yale.eduLavishly illustrated with over 200 of the finest objects and masterpieces from the collection of one of the great maritime museums in the world, enriched with essays by luminaries in the fields of fine art, maritime history and maritime related arts, this book underscores the import of seafaring in the history of America.

Art of the Sea Calendar 2006 $12.95To Order: 888-461-4619 /www.tidemarkpress.comWith proceeds benefiting the National Maritime Historical Society. Containing twelve paintings by leading artists A.D. Blake, Christopher Blossom, Marc Castelli, Steve Cryan, Don Demers, Louis Dodd, William Duffy, Jim Griffiths, William G. Muller, Robert Sticker, John Stobart and Tim Thompson.

Celebration of SailThe Marine Art of Roy Cross, RSMARoy Cross Hardcover $65The Crowood Press128 pp ISBN: 1 86126 7150To order: 800-331-2665 /trafalgarsquarebooks.com140 color reproductions and 10 black and white sketches depicting 18th and 19th centu-ry merchant and naval sailing vessels as well as early 20th century racing yachts comprise this first volume devoted to the masterful artwork of Roy Cross.

The Chelyuskin AdventureR.E.G. Davies with Yuri SalnikovIllustrated by Mike MachatCover Painting by Ian MarshallPaladwr Press Hardcover $4096 pp ISBN: 1-888962-23-2To Order: 203-259-8753 or [email protected] abundantly illustrated duel language (English-Russian) account of an ill-fated epic sea voyage from European Russia to the Russian Far East by way of the Arctic Ocean, documenting the journey, the devastating disaster and dramatic air rescue of the 104 scientists aboard.

Fitz Henry LaneJohn Wilmerding Softcover $29.95Bradford & Bigelow220 ppTo order: 978-283-0455Re-publication of the definitive 1971 book on “Fitz Hugh Lane”, re-titled and including addi-tional color images, a report explaining the dramatic discovery and change in the artist’s name, and a partial reprint of the1974 book Fitz Hugh Lane at the Cape Ann Historical Association.

Historic Ship ModelsThe Musée de la Marine CollectionJean Boudriot Hardcover $95Translated by David RobertsPhotograghs by Patrick DantecA.N.C.R.E., Nice, FrancePier Books, Piermont, NY and Dupont Communications, Florence, Oregon254 pp ISBN : 0-9755772-2-0To order: 845-268-5845 / [email protected] in-depth look at 14 of the most important ship models in France’s national collection from the Zebec Le Reguin of 1750 to La Créole 24-gun sloop 1827 by the master scholar of the French sailing navy, author of over 30 volumes devoted to the subject, includ-ing the definitive study of John Paul Jones’ Bonhomme Richard.

The Journal of A.J. LaneA.J. Lane Leatherbound (2 volumes) $200Medlar Press / Meadow Run Press

To Order: 908-719-8858 /meadowrunpress.comThe fish, the fishing and the flies of southern England are vividly described in this 1843 account. Includes over 40 color plates of watercolor paintings, and comes with a com-panion volume of transcripts.

A Mariner’s Fancy:The Whaleman’s Art of ScrimshawNina Hellman and Norman BrouwerSouth Street Seaport Museum96 pp. Softcover $14.95To order: southstreetseaportmuseum.orgAn illustrated catalogue of intricate scrim-shaw and folk art made by seamen during the Age of Sail, depicting the exotic places they visited.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts:200 Years of Excellence, 1805-2005Mark Hain, Michael J. Lewis et al.Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsHardcover $80 Softcover $60312 pp ISBN: 0-943-836-24-7To Order: 215-972-2075Essays documenting the history of the oldest museum and school of fine arts in the United States, its collection, and a chronology of significant events; abundantly illustrated with reproductions of the Academy’s permanent collection.

Pirate’s PassageWilliam Gilkerson Hardcover $17.95Shambhala Publications364 pp ISBN: 1-59030-247-8To Order: shambhala.comA rollicksome tale full of mystery about pirates and queens, Vikings and lovers and a quaint inn on the rocky coast of Nova Scotia. Written and illustrated by William Gilkerson for ages 10 and up.

Reading PicturesWhat we think aboutwhen we look at artAlberto Manque Softcover $19Random House352pp ISBN: 0-375-75922-0To Order: randomhouse.comA brilliant and accessible discussion on how to decipher or create the story or meaning of an object, be it sculpted, painted, photographed or constructed.

Sailor-PainterThe Uncommon Life ofCharles Robert PattersonRobert Lloyd Webb Hardcover $55Flat Hammock Press448 pp ISBN: 0-9758699-1-4To Order: 860-572-2722Charles Robert Patterson (1878-1958) began his nautical career at age 13, crossing every major ocean and rounding Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn before the age of 20. After “swallowing the anchor” he began an illustrious career as an inspired, academically trained painter of real ships in real seas.

The Shipcarvers’ ArtFiguresheads and Cigar-Store Indiansin Nineteenth-Century AmericaRalph Sessions Hardcover $75Princeton University Press240 pp ISBN: 0-691-12081-1To order 800-7777-4726The historical and artistic values of two related crafts are eloquently merged into a single volume.

Still Looking:Essays On American ArtJohn Updike Hardcover $40Knopf240 pp ISBN: 1-4000-441-8-9To Order: Amazon.com18 essays present a richly illustrated, appre-ciative and informed critique on American paintings, including discussions on John Singleton Copley, Frederic Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, James McNeill Whistler, Childe Hassam and others.

Summer PlacesEastern Long Island and New EnglandPaintings by Simon Parkes Text by Angus Wilkie Hardcover $29.95Vendome Press136pp ISBN: 0-865650161-2To order: Amazon.comThe subject of Simon Parkes paintings and the subject of this book are the rock-strewn shores, sandy beaches, leisure boats and wood-framed houses along the coastline of the Northeast during summertime.

The Vendue Masters:Tales from Within the Wallsof America’s Oldest Auction House

Roland Arkell and Catherine Saunders-Watson Antique Collector’s Club, Ltd. Hardcover $35192 pp ISBN: 1851494901To Order: Amazon.comThe histories of the city of Philadelphia and the United States are skillfully interwoven within the pages of this colorful 200-year his-tory of Freeman’s, the oldest auction house in America. Counted among Freeman sales is one of the original Declaration of Independence, four U.S. Navy ships, two Canadian provinces and one chess-playing Turk.

Views on the MississippiThe Photographs of Henry Peter BosseMark NeuzilForeward by Merry A. ForestaUniversity of Minnesota PressSoftcover $29.95 ISBN: 0-8166-3648-6 Hardcover $89.95 ISBN: 0-8166-3647-8 253 ppTo Order: upress.umn.eduBlue cyanotype photographs and hand-drawn maps from the collections of the Minnesota Marine Museum by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer mapmaker/photographer, Henry Peter Bosse (1844-1903) and the narrative by Mark Neuzil unveil the history of the great American river during its early days of development.

The Wapping Group of Artists:Sixty years of painting by the Thames

Seafarer Books/Sheridan HouseHardcover $29.9595 pp ISBN: 1-57409-218-9To Order: [email protected] / 914-693-2410The intriguing history of London’s River Thames and the unique essence of the plein aire society of painters, founded 60 years ago in a pub to observe and expressively docu-ment life along the Thames, brilliantly unfold through the words and works of the members themselves.

Winslow Homer,Artist and AnglerPatricia Junker and Sarah BurnsThames & Hudson Hardcover $45Amon Carter Museum and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco238 ppTo Order: cartermuseum.orgHomer’s watercolors of the New York Adirondacks, Quebec and Florida celebrate his passion for fly-fishing, and offer a digest on Sporting Art during his time.

Waterfowl and FieldBirding 2006 CalendarThe Paintings of Arthur Shilstone $12.95To order: 203-259-8753

Wooden Ships & Iron Men:The Maritime Art of Thomas HoyneReese Palley and Marilyn Arnold PalleyQuantuck Lane Hardcover $59.95224 pp ISBN: 1-593-72013-0To Order: Amazon.comThis first ever volume on Hoyne’s work dis-cusses his life and his technique as well as the challenges of fishing in the treacherous Gloucester waters; illustrated with over 100 beautiful reproductions of his paintings of fishing schooners and the perils of the sea.

TO ORDER A SIGNED COPY: $85 plus $10 shipping and handling per book. Contact the Greenwich Workshop Gallery, (800) 243-4260, 1657 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824, or email us at [email protected] Phone orders require major credit card. To order by mail, please include check or credit card information.

Wholesale and corporate gift orders: order ten books – get one free. Please contact the publisher: (800) 243-4246

At last, the definit ive book on contemporary marine art we’ve beenwaiting for. The leading authority in the field guides us through the

breathtaking beauty of today’s marine art and the artists who arethe recognized leaders of the new renaissance of this

grand tradit ional art form.

If you could have one book in your library

on contemporary American marine art, this

should be it. Written by the acknowledged

authority in the field, it provides indispensable

insight into the most important marine art

artists of our time.

2322

If you find that controversy interesting, wait to you learn what’s happening in China, where they have “factories” employing literally hundreds of artists to produce tens of thousands of paintings for the world market, many of them copies of well-known masters. One artist in China claims to have painted nearly 20 thousand copies of Van Gogh paintings! How big an industry is this? Well, according to the United States International Trade Commission records in 2004 $30.5 million of paintings were imported into the United States for resale. That translates into much more than that in retail sales, as the Chinese paintings are being sold to the importers for $25 to $30 each, and then resold for $100 or more.

And these artists are very good. Its not widely known, but during Communism, if you wanted to be an artist or an actor you joined the Chinese army where academies had been set up by the Russians to train potential artists. It was really the academy system that impressionists like Van Gogh found too rigid. It involved young artists being allowed for the first two years only to draw the human figure from a live model or cast with a pencil. The third year they were allowed to work on the figure with color. And finally, in the fourth year they could begin to express themselves more personally in their subject matter. Tremendously rigorous train-ing that guaranteed that the graduates could paint virtually whatever they wanted, in whatever man-ner they wanted to. Unfortunately for the artists working this factory kind of a set up, they are not getting rich. They’re being paid essentially $200 to $300 per month to crank out paintings. The market is so vibrant that it actually has swelled the ranks of art graduates from Chinese universities 60% over the last year. Who’s buying these painting? Well, Pier 1, Bed Bath and Beyond, individuals over the Internet, English department stores. You name it. It will be amazing to see what happens, when in the next five years, 500 identical self-portraits by Rembrandt show up in the Rembrandt market for the Rembrandt boys to sort out.

How can you tell what’s authentic in your own col-lection. Well, when you’re purchasing, buy from a reputable source, and get as much documentation as possible. Collectors of contemporary marine art have it a little easier because you can actually meet the artists on certain occasions and hear them talk about the creation of your own painting. A good idea is to make some notes, even if you have an informal conversation with the artist, and keep them with painting’s records.

But it’s not just the Chinese who have entered the art market. Have you heard of Congo the chim-panzee? Although poor little Congo wasn’t around very long—born in 1954, died in 1964—he pro-duced some 400 drawings and paintings, believe

it or not, three of which were just sold in London at auction for more than $25,000 each. Holy moly! But if you really want to see something, make a visit to Thailand where two Russian artists, Vitaly Kolmar and Alex Malemid (known for actually working on the same paintings together,) set up, (you are not going to believe this), three artist academies to teach elephants to paint. They even authored a book What Elephants Paint. They started working with dogs painting in 1977, but in 1995 they came across a 16 year old elephant named Renée at the Toledo Zoo in Ohio who they said was “very beautiful and very talented.” So in 1998 the established the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project to raise money

for elephant sanctuaries. The first year they sold $50,000 worth of ele-phant paintings in one night. Over the years the paintings have been shown at the Berkeley Museum of Art in California, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Australia, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and sold at Christies. Is this for real? Very much so. Mia Fineman, New York based art historian, “They (the elephants) really enjoy paint-ing. They like exercising their

trunks. And they love the attention they get when people watch them.” Even Leonardo De Caprio bought one of their paintings for $2,000. What does it all mean? This one has me dumbfounded. Or is that Dumbo-founded?

I’m not sure if the elephants will be able to take advantage of the newest Senate bill, however, which is designed to benefit artists and museums. Sponsored by New York Senator Chuck Schumer and New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, the bill dramatically changes the landscape for artists and museums in terms of donations made directly by artists, writers, musicians, etc. Whereas in the past there was not any incentive at all for artists to donate directly because they could only receive a deduction based on the cost of the materials used to make the art object, i.e. when Picasso was alive and the painting of his was worth $500,000, he might only be able to take a tax deduction for the $50 in paint and canvas that it actually cost. That never seemed quite right, and these two senators have gone a long way towards trying to rectify that.

What it essentially means is that in addition to leveling the playing field for artists, it also opens up avenues for small and mid-size museums that don’t have an acquisition budget to grow their col-lections. The two caveats are that the work must be properly appraised by a licensed appraiser, given over to a museum at least 18 months from its creation, and it must be related in someway to the mission or function of the museum or chari-table organization. There are obviously a lot of issues that will be addressed as this moves along. For example, what’s the value of a musical score by a contemporary composer? Or the question raised by Dean Zerbe, senior tax lawyer for the Senate Finance Committee, “What happens if a lawyer wants to donate a legal brief, for example?” Of course, most artists do not make enough money to benefit from a large tax deduction. There will certainly be a lot of discussion on this, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Speaking of museums, the residents—all 47 of them—of Pitcairn Island, which many will rec-ognize as the home of the mutineers from Captain Bly’s Bounty, have announced to the world the formation of the Pitcairn Museum, which, with a grant from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office, is being established to encourage Pitcairn Island’s cruise ship industry. The museum will display tools made by Polynesians before the arrival of the mutineers and some Bounty memorabilia. It is currently located in the school which has ten pupils. So if you visit, I don’t think you’ll have a hard time finding it.

As always, when the art world is seeing block-buster sales like it is now, the temptation to set up art investment funds is strong. The latest to set up one is the Dutch bank ABN-Amro. They are looking seriously into setting up a fund with their existing client base, private banks around the world. They’re looking at other models, for example the China Fund, which currently buys Chinese art in the West for resale to mainland Chinese collectors. We’ve discussed how some of these funds have fared in our earlier issues. Some well; some not so well. Like everything else, you really have to know what you are doing, and get good advice.

That’s all the room for now. More in our next issue.

Continued from page 7

Drawings by William Gilkerson from the book Pirate’s Passage

As many people know, the United States Navy and Coast Guard have their own artists programs to document their vessels and activities. Sadly, one of the most active artist members in the Coast Guard Artist Program, Pete Eagleton passed on recently—or as they say in commercial shipping, he’s now “finished with engines.” Pete’s passion was, in addition to Coast Guard vessels, steel tugs and tankers of the working American waterfront. Wherever he went, he could be found sketchbook in hand documenting the hardworking ships of commercial seafaring America.

Another member of the CoGap Program, American Society of Marine Artists past president Bob Semler has been commissioned by the Class of 1950 at the Coast Guard Academy to paint a large mural to adorn one of the walls of the new museum to be built on the Academy grounds in New London, Connecticut. Measuring 30” x 50”, Bob’s painting is the training ship Eagle under full sail. He’ll depict her the way she appeared between 1947 and 1950 without the stripe and with a split spanker. It will be unveiled at the next homecom-ing. As a part of the CoGap Program, Bob has donated seven paintings to the Coast Guard’s per-manent collection over the years.

Out in San Francisco this April they’ll be honor-ing one of their own chroniclers of the waterfront, William A. Coulter (1849-1936) with an exhibi-tion that will open on April 18, the 100th anniver-sary of the 1906 quake and fire, under the sponsor-ship of Paul and Linda Kahn Foundation and the San Francisco National Maritime Historic Park Association. The exhibition will be held at the 4,500 sq. ft. gallery space in the Park’s visitors center, and will feature some 200 paintings and drawings which have been borrowed from private collections and museums, like the U.S. Merchant Marine Museum in King’s Point, New York, and it will include Coulter’s 10 ft. long painting of the San Francisco fire, painted in 1906 during the actual event. Coulter was an Irishman who served in the British Merchant Marine for seven years, and later arrived in San Francisco in 1869, where he chron-icled the maritime history of the West Coast and San Francisco Bay as it unfolded before him daily. During those years he was the waterfront artist for the San Francisco Call newspaper, supplying them with drawings of ships entering and leaving the harbor. The exhibition has been organized and curated by Marcus de Chevrieux, who is also the curator at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum in Newport Beach, California and of the Kelton Foundation. This will be one of the most impor-tant exhibitions of West Coast maritime art held in a long time. Marcus also has plans to organize an exhibition of Coulter’s modern day heir, David Thimgan, who chronicled West Coast maritime history for the last 30 years until his untimely death a year and a half ago.

Marcus also tells us that in conjunction with the Kelton Foundation Collection, he’s formed an excit-ing new online museum presence blueworldweb-museum.org, featuring 97 paintings from the extensive Collection, and an online exhibition under the heading “What’s In a Maritime Painting.” Through it you are able to look at these paintings from a variety of different angles. Marcus says that the Thimgan exhibit may take the form of this online exhibition.

From San Francisco we hear from Steve Priske, who has been working on a book on the tall ships of San Francisco circa 1859 through 1920, which will feature 1,500 never published before glass plate negative photographs of West Coast tall ships which he recently discovered. In addition to the photographs, he’s also uncovered shipyard blue-prints and maps, all hand drawn on onionskin of the last American clipper ship built in San Francisco, the Western Shore, 1879 and the world’s first five masted schooner, the Lewis, 1888; the first four masted bald head schooner Novelty of 1886, and the first four masted barkentine built on the West Coast, the Willy R. Shune, 1890. We’ll keep you posted on actual publication dates. But it’s remarkable still that just when we think we have access to everything, new discoveries con-tinue to be made everyday in the maritime field.

Seattle, Washington will be site of a one man exhibition this spring of the work of Mark Myers at the Kirsten Gallery, continuing Mark’s previ-ous investigations into the early exploration and trade along the northwest coast. His art is based on firsthand accounts, i.e. Captain’s log books and personal letters, of the earliest Spanish, British, American and Russian sailors who sailed along and landed on the northwest coast in the early 18th and 19th centuries. The exhibition will run from May 21-June 25. For more information contact kirstengallery.com.

Steamboat and liner buffs should look for a book on the paintings of William G. Muller later this year, long considered the dean of New York harbor and Hudson River painters. Many people don’t know that Bill actually served as a pilot aboard the last Hudson River Dayliner, the Alexander Hamilton.

He told me recently that even before that, when he was just out of the service, a model he had made of the Alexander Hamilton was displayed at a ship-crafter’s meeting at the Seaman’s Church Institute where it caught the eye of one Arthur Henning. Henning, at that time, had a modeling firm which had the contract to regularly refurbish the 1000 travel agent liner models in New York City – ships of the French line, Italian line, American export, etc. One of Bill’s early jobs was a hands-on job of repairing these models of liners, so he really got to study them in detail.

From Australia we hear from Dean Claffin of the exhibition by members of the Australian Society of Marine Artists held this winter at the Mosman Art Gallery Civic Center to great success. They also announce the start up of their own Web site, marineartistsaustralia.com.au.

We had our own blast from “down under” last fall with a visit by New Zealand’s leading maritime painter A.D. Blake and his wife Fiona. A special exhibition of five of Tony’s brand new paintings was held at J. Russell Jinishian Gallery in Fairfield, Connecticut. Tony gave a presentation on his philosophy and technique of painting showing us a painting of Vigilant leading Istalena at the finish of the Astor Cup, August 8, 1908 from incep-tion to the drawing process and the painting pro-cess. It was a fascinating afternoon. Tony is an example of a marine artist who came not from the field of training in art (in fact, he was a trained engineer), but through his love and knowledge of the sea—like Van de Velde the elder, the son of a ship captain—he discovered his own talent as a painter. This knowledge helped ensure the incred-ible accuracy and life-like quality of his paintings.

Continued from page 17

Continued on page 26

Over the past 15 years, a relatively a short period of time, he’s really made his mark on the contemporary marine art scene. His paintings are now selling in the $35-$50,000 range on a regular basis. He’s been commissioned by the New York Yacht Club and Herreshoff Maritime Museum among others. In fact, one of his paintings is being used on the current edition of the Herreshoff of Bristol, the story of legendary American naval architect Nathaniel Herreshoff and his manufacturing company.

Sweden is the most recent subject of the paintings of Charleston-based marine artist West Fraser. West spent six weeks there this past summer with his wife Helena. You can read more about his work in the October 2005 issue of Charleston magazine. In nearby Denmark is the town of Skagen in northern Jutland. It’s there that a whole group of painters found their inspiration and founded their own artist colony in 1908, built by painters Peder Koroyer, Holger Drachmann and Anna and Michael Ancher. They painted the natural beauty of coastal Denmark and the fishing community they lived in. Their paintings can be seen today at Skagens Museum, or on the Web at skagensmuseum.dk.

If you were strolling down the street in Boston last fall near the Museum of Fine Arts you may have been astounded to see two actual America’s Cup yachts fully rigged heeled over ever so gently right outside the entrance of the Museum. If you recog-nized America 3 and Il Moro, the defender and the challenger of the 1992 America’s Cup, you would have been correct. Inside the Museum was an exhibition entitled “The Things I Love: The many Collections of William I. Koch,” (who was winner of the Cup aboard America 3), featuring nearly 200 works of art, including Bill’s extensive collection of marine paintings by Fitz Henry (Hugh) Lane, Eugène Boudin, Raoul Dufy, Winslow Homer, and his entire collection of ship models and half models of every challenger and defender of the America’s Cup since the first race in 1851. Many people don’t know that Bill is also a descendant of Captain James Lawrence who’s battle cry, “Don’t give up the ship” during the battle of the USS

Chesapeake and HMS Shannon June 11, 1813 is one of the most famous naval directives of all time, which still inspires American sailors even today. You also learned that Bill is a passionate collector of other important works of art from Frederic Remington and Charles Russell to Cezanne, Renoir, Monet and Picasso and Matisse. His collection even includes the hunting rifle of General Custer, and the gun that killed outlaw Jesse James.

One interesting sideline was that the yachts outside the museum were fitted with FAA aircraft warning lights atop their mass, and lightning rods running to the ground. In fact, the Boston city code required that they would be able to withstand sustained winds of 90 miles per hour and a three second blast of 110 miles per hour before they would actually allow them to be on display. Overall, it was a remark-able exhibit by a passionate maritime collector.

The Chesapeake Bay was the site of a lot of marine art activity last year. From the paintings of watercolorist Pam Pahl, one of which she donated to the Great Schooner Rig group to support the Save the Bay Foundation. Her schooner race paintings and others were also the focus of a exhi-bition at the Eliot Museum in Stuart, Florida from November through January.

The Annapolis Yacht Club’s Wednesday night race is the subject of John Barber’s newest paint-ing and print titled “Twilight Finish.” It shows the clubhouse and other landmarks of historic Annapolis against the warm golden twilight. Members of the fleet of J-30s are quietly ghosting to the finish line off the docks of the club. The print measures 13”x28” and sells for $125. John kicked it off with the help of Gary Jobson who was on hand signing copies of Virginia Pearl’s new print “Yacht Clubs of Annapolis” at the Annapolis Marine Gallery in October.

Another Chesapeake based watercolorist Marc Castelli’s paintings of the Bay’s watermen at work aboard the classic, sail powered fishing skipjacks of the Bay were featured on the cover and accom-panying article of Autumn 2005 Maritime Life and Traditions magazine.

If you visited the Mystic, Connecticut area last summer you may have seen the maritime art equivalent of the “painted cows” which have appeared in cities all across America over the last five years. In this case, gigantic sperm whales with their tails upturned. Nearly 50 of them, each painted by a local artist and placed at sights all around the New London/Mystic area. The Whale Trail, as it was known, was a great success. But now that it’s all over we wonder, “Where have all the whales gone.” Try thewhal-etrail.com to find out.

Speaking of whales, well-known California whale sculptor, Randy Puckett, has really been busy this last quarter. He’s released three new sculptures. One entitled “Rhythm and Blues” featuring a blue whale cow and calf. Blue whales are the largest animals on the earth (or in the ocean) today, reaching lengths well over 100 feet and weighing in excess of 160 tons. His sculpture is 10”x13”x8” and sells for $1,800. As Randy often does, he offered early purchasers (before January 1) a chance to buy the sculpture for $1,200 while mak-ing a $600 donation to any of nine non-profit organizations including the American Cetacean Society, Salvation Army, Ocean Alliance and the American Red Cross. He’s also offered to donate one of his “Sneak Peek” sculptures of a grey whale, which was originally released in 2003 to help support a school in El Centro in Baja, California that the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society has adopted (visit them at starrsites.com/acsmb). This is the village where fishermen take visitors into the San Ignacio lagoon when the grey whales gather there to calf. Randy’s sculpture is based on a whale that he saw while visiting the lagoon with the Linblad Expedition several years ago. The Society is selling raffle tickets at $5.00 each. They will announce their winner at their meeting at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove February 23.

Randy is also contributing half of the proceeds of any of his sculptures sold at the Whale Quest event in Kapalua, Hawaii, February 10, 11 and 12 to researchers working on humpback whale research in Maui, Hawaii. The weekend will be a

25

Dimetrious Athas Tight Around the Mark Oil on Panel 18” x 24” $13,500

24Randy Puckett Blitzen (Steno Dolphin)Bronze Edition of 350 12” x 8½” x 8” $1,500

Robert Sticker U.S.S. VIXEN, 1803 Oil on Panel 15¾” x 17¼” $7,500

three-day event of whale talks, whale watches, pictures, videos, book signings and art exhibits. More information can be found by calling the event chairwom-an, Nancy Cross, 808-669-2440. I think that’s enough for one guy to do. But no, there’s more. He’s just finished his newest sculpture entitled “Blixen” depicting a single, steno or rough-toothed dolphin. Why a steno? Randy says, “Stenos have always been among my favorite dolphin. They look pre-historic, like something left over from an earlier age. Totally unlike any other dolphin in appearance.” The particular steno that he has chosen to depict, Blixen, is named after one that was rescued, treated and released back into the wild by the Mote Marine Laboratory of Sarasota, Florida in 1998. It was one of two steno dolphins out of 60 that survived the stranding on the Florida Panhandle Christmas of 1997. The sculpture measures 12”h x 8½”w x 8”d, made in an edition of 350. It will be officially released in May at the price of $1,500. But prior to that, Randy is making it available for $800 providing that the purchaser makes a contribution of $400 or more to the Mote Marine Laboratory. More information can be had by calling 203-259-8753. Like many artists, Randy’s personal passions and artistic life are intertwined. And he certainly puts his money where his mouth is, helping to add beauty to the world and to support the causes that are important to him.

In Florida, sculptor Kathy Spalding is lending her

talents to another good cause—a special healing garden for those dealing with breast cancer, spon-sored by the wife of the owner of the Tommy Bahamas clothing line. The Garden of Hope and Courage is being designed as a place where people in Miami can retreat when they are undergoing chemotherapy. It will feature Kathy’s life-size bronze sculptures of sea turtles and gators, and another 40-foot fish piece spiraling up in the air. A second healing garden is planned for Duke

University in North Carolina.

Whaling is also the subject of master scrimshander Robert Weiss’s latest project. He’s doing a private commission on a huge matched pair of teeth, each weighing three pounds, measuring 10” long, which he’ll cover on all sides with scenes from Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick.

Bill Gilkerson is another artist who is also one of the world’s leading authorities on a number of subjects from whaling to 18th century armaments, warships and pirates. He’s the author of American Whalers in the Western Arctic, and ten other books including, The Scrimshander, The Ships of John Paul Jones, Boarders Away and Ultimate Voyage. He reports that the early reactions to his newest novel Pirates Passage are rave reviews. (See our book page) In fact he says he’s “never gotten a response like this.” It’s worth noting that in a break from tra-dition, Wooden Boat magazine, which normally never reviews works of fiction, will be review-ing this new book in the near future. Pirate’s Passage is illus-trated with many drawings by

Bill, some of which are featured in this issue. His next, and thirteenth book, Gilkerson’s Book of Pirates will be a picture book featuring 50 of Bill’s paintings of pirates and pirate ships. Arrg matey!

That’s all the room for now – but keep those cards, letters, and yes, e-mails coming in.

For Insider InformationYou Can’t Get Anywhere Else,

Subscribe To:

J. Russell Jinishian is internationally rec-ognized as America’s leading authority on contemporary marine art. The former long time Director of the Marine Art Gallery at Mystic Seaport Museum, his writings have appeared in Sailing, Sea History, American Artist, Art New England and other publications. For many years he was the Art Critic for the Connecticut Post

and a Contributing Editor of Nautical World Magazine, where his popular column on marine art appeared regularly. He has served as a juror for many exhibitions, including three times for the Arts for the Parks Exhibition, sponsored by the National Parks Service. He is the author of Bound for Blue Water, considered the definitive Guide to Contemporary Marine Art. He currently operates the J. Russell Jinishian Gallery, specializing in 19th, 20th, and 21st Century Marine and Sporting Art and continues to lecture nationally on marine art and collecting. He may be reached at 1657 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. Phone: 203-259-8753 Fax: 203-259-8761, or e-mail: [email protected]

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Annual subscription is $25 (U.S.) $35 (foreign) for 4 issues (published quarterly).

Send check or money order made payable to :

Marine Art Quarterly1657 Post Road

Fairfield, CT 06824203-259-8753

Available By Subscription Only

www.MarineArtQuarterly.com

Continued from page 25

™

26

Marine Art Quarterly designed by Mizerek Design NYC Books & Events edited by Peach Pair

Jim Griffiths American Clipper Ship WITCH OF THE WAVE Outbound, in 1854 Gouache 12½” x 19” $3,750

Although the homeport of the extreme clipper Witch of the Wave was Salem, MA, (thus the witch reference) she was built for a cost of $80,000 at the yard of George Raynes in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and launched on April 6, 1851. Measuring 220 feet on deck she had staterooms for her officers and seven passengers—even a 100-volume library. She left Boston on her maiden voyage May 20, 1851 and made the passage to San Francisco in 123 days. In the ensuing years she called at Whampoa, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, and New York. Her passage from Calcutta on July 3, 1853 to Boston in 81 days is a record that still stands today. The London Shipping Gazette describes her arrival in London as follows, “She worked up the English Channel to windward of 400 sail of vessels and not a ship could keep up with her.” The London Times observed, “The Witch of the Wave has brought one of the most valuable cargoes of tea that has ever entered London, 19,000 chests of the first quality. She is the subject of much interest as she lies at the dock. Her bows are similar to those of a large cutter yacht” Griffiths’ painting gives us a good look at the beauty of her lines and the magnificent sight she must have been underway.

A look around the walls of almost any yacht club in America inevitably reveals the presence of at least one yacht racing chromolithograph by New York artist Frederic Cozzens. Twenty-seven of these yachting lithographs were published by Scribners in 1884 to accompany Lt. J.D. Kelley’s definitive book of that time American Yachts: Their Clubs and Races. But as well-known as these prints are, they represent only a small portion of his marine output. For fifty years he actively chronicled the commercial ships and pleasure yachts that filled New York Harbor. His work appeared regularly in the Daily Graphic and Harper Weekly from mid 1870-1898. A yachtsman himself, he was respected for the accurateness and the realism of his paintings which today help preserve the history of the world’s busiest harbors. Here are a few examples from a collection that has recently come into the marketplace. For more information call 203-259-8753.

Frederic Schiller Cozzens (1846-1928)

Shipping in Stormy Seas Signed Lower Left, 1885 Watercolor 8” x 16 ½” $2,500Off Robbins Reef Signed Lower Left, 1896 Watercolor 13 ½” x 10” $3,000

Schooner Yacht off Sandy Hook Light Signed Lower Left, 1911 Watercolor 17” x 25” $5,000

The After Glow Signed Lower Left, 1913 Watercolor 19” x 13 ½” $3,500