On December 25, 1929, Edward E. Bradley, an industrialist; Carl C. Cutler, a lawyer; and Dr. Charles K. Stillman, a physician; signed the papers incorporating the Marine Historical Association, today known as Mystic Seaport Museum. Their dream: create a dynamic, educational institution to preserve America’s maritime culture–and turn the achievements of a past era into an inspirational force for the future.

Cutler was writing what would become a seminal book on American clipper ships, Greyhounds of the Sea. As he traveled the East Coast doing research, he was appalled to discover how many maritime artifacts were being destroyed. He enlisted Stillman, who happened to be the grandson of local shipbuilder Clark Greenman, and Bradley to collect historical material. They incorporated the Marine Historical Association and began recruiting members and collecting maritime artifacts.

The association was gifted the buildings formerly belonging to the Mystic Manufacturing Company in 1931, turning its brick buildings into exhibit halls. That year, Dr. Stillman gave the Museum its first boat, the sandbagger racing sloop Annie, so that visitors could learn confidence, courage, and skill on the water. After Stillman and Bradley died in 1938, Cutler led the efforts to acquire and save the last surviving whaleship, the Charles W. Morgan. It arrived in November 1941, was placed in a sand berth, and opened for visitors in June 1942. Plans to build a representative seaport began in 1943, with the Shipsmith Shop the first to arrive in 1944.

The training ship Joseph Conrad joined the fleet in 1947 as part of the Mariner Training Program, and with the arrival of the coasting schooner Australia in 1951 and the schooner yacht Brilliant in 1952, the sail-training program expanded. More buildings were installed along the waterfront street, and in 1955, “activists”—now called interpreters—began to work in the exhibits.

In 1947, the Mystic Seaport Museum established a small library to hold its published books and manuscripts, which later serve as the center for the graduate-level Frank C. Munson Memorial Institute of American Maritime History after it was founded in 1955. The expanded G. W. Blunt White Library opened in 1965 and is now housed in the Collections Research Center.

To keep up with the demands of its wooden fleet, Mystic Seaport built the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard in 1973 at the site of the historic Charles Mallory Shipyard. The first major task was to restore the Morgan, an ongoing program that had begun years earlier and included significant structural work. The Morgan was removed from its sand berth in 1974 and hauled out on the Shipyard’s lift dock.

In the 1980s, the Mystic Seaport Museum built new bulkheads to stabilize the waterfront and acquired the Rosenfeld Collection of maritime photography, which numbers close to one million images. Mystic Seaport constructed the Freedom Schooner Amistad in 1998–2000 and opened the Collections Research Center in 2001 to house one of the largest maritime collections available for research in the United States.

The Morgan returned to the Museum’s Shipyard for restoration in 2008 and was relaunched in 2013. The ship embarked on a historic 38th Voyage in 2014—sailing for the first time since 1921.

The Museum then expanded its exhibition space, building the McGraw Gallery Quadrangle in 2015 and adding the Thompson Exhibition Building in 2016. These additions focus the Museum’s formal exhibits at the north end of the complex, providing year-round learning opportunities for visitors.

Mystic Seaport Museum is now 90 years old. We do not know what the next 10 years will bring, but if the journey so far is any indication, great things are in store when we celebrate 100 years in 2029.

Mystic, Conn. (December 17, 2019) — Stephen C. White announced today he plans to retire as President and CEO of Mystic Seaport Museum. White, who has served as President and CEO since 2009, will continue in that role until his successor has been named.

“I’m honored to have worked alongside the talented, passionate, and dedicated staff and volunteers who every day strive to inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience,” says White. “I came here with the goal of guiding the institution to reimagine the interchange between maritime heritage and broader contemporary culture. I’m proud of all we have achieved in the last decade and that the Museum is poised to achieve more great things as it enters its 90th year in 2020.”

Under White’s leadership, the Museum strengthened its role as a leader in America’s maritime heritage community while simultaneously adapting to new visions of what a museum must be in the 21st century. It restored and sailed the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan on its 38th Voyage in 2014. The north end of the campus was reconfigured into the McGraw Gallery Quadrangle, a comprehensive renovation and expansion of the Museum’s indoor exhibition spaces, which included the construction of the award-winning Thompson Exhibition Building. The Museum is poised to conclude funding of its $6-million Era of Exhibitions campaign. The campaign was launched in 2017 to fund exhibitions of world-class quality, innovation, and scholarship such as the present show J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate, the most comprehensive collection of Turner watercolors ever displayed in this country.

White served as the president of the International Congress of Maritime Museums from 2015 to 2019, and Gov. Dannel Malloy named White Connecticut’s Tourism Leader of the Year in 2015.

“Steve’s impact on Mystic Seaport Museum is best seen in the strong sense of community he fostered, both inside the Museum and in its external relationships with the world at large,” says Michael S. Hudner, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “We are grateful for his steady, confident leadership and for the zeal and imagination with which he advanced the Museum’s mission.”

The Board of Trustees of Mystic Seaport Museum will establish a search committee headed by former Board chairman Barclay Collins in January 2020 to find White’s successor.

 

 

Mystic Seaport Museum is pleased to announce the winners of its watercolor competition inspired by the current exhibition J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate open now in the Museum’s Collins Gallery.

One hundred thirty-three paintings were entered in the competition from artists as far away as Denmark and California. After an initial submission period, six finalists were selected — three each in two categories: adult and child (ages 12 and younger). The finalists were presented to the public for an online vote, which determined the winner in each category.

The winner in the adult category is Lisa Miceli of Mystic, Conn., for her painting “New London Harbor Light at Dusk.”

The winner in the child category is Estefani R., a 5th grade student from Los Angeles, for her painting “Moonlight Forest.”

The six finalist paintings are on display in the lobby of the Museum’s Thompson Exhibition Building, outside of the Turner exhibition. The public may view the display free of charge. The other four paintings are:

• “Into the Light” by Madeleine von Hemert
• “Summer Day” by Robert Ferguson
• Rainbow Road, Iceland” by Olivia, 4th grade
• “5 Whales” by Samantha, 7th grade

J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate is open daily through February 23, 2020.

 

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people took to the streets and college campuses across the country to protest environmental ignorance and demand greater protections for our planet. This first Earth Day sparked the passage of major environmental legislation in the U.S. including the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts, and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 will mark a pivotal year for our planet as the Earth needs our attention now more than ever,” says Stephen C. White, President of Mystic Seaport Museum. “We recognize our obligation specifically to the Mystic River and its watershed and in the spirit of the Earth Day Network’s mission to activate the environmental movement worldwide; we look forward to engaging a host of like-minded community partners as well as the general public in support of habitat restoration, conservation and overall collective action.”

October 22 marks six months to Earth Day, and on this day, Mystic Seaport Museum announces its support for Earth Day 2020 and the EARTHRISE movement, which will mobilize across the globe on April 22 to turn out millions across generations, sectors, and continents to demand immediate action on climate change.

April 22, 2020, is as a key moment for citizens, institutions, and organizations everywhere to demonstrate our shared demand for bold, transformative change. Mystic Seaport Museum is proud to join this global movement as we build toward the next half century of action for our planet.

“As someone who participated in the first Earth Day in 1970, the 50th anniversary is an important milestone for all of us to recommit and expand support for our environment in the greater Mystic area and beyond,” says White.

In partnership with Mystic Aquarium and other community organizations, the Museum looks to hold events to share information about the history of the local watershed including human impacts and offer educational opportunities and activities to shed light on ways we all can become better stewards of the planet. It is critically important to protect Long Island Sound and maintain its water quality as a living resource to more than 1,200 species of invertebrates, 170 species of fish and dozens of species of migratory birds.

The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport Museum opened its 39th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition and Sale on Saturday, September 28.

The International is the most comprehensive collection of contemporary marine art in the United States. Award-winning artists from around the world present more than 100 examples of their most recent work. Represented in this show are exceptional paintings, sculptures, and scrimshaw. The juried show is a commemoration of America’s maritime heritage with both intricately researched historical scenes and contemporary images that document the relationship of man to the sea.

Each year, the exhibition honors participating artists with five awards of excellence and six named awards, including the Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award, which recognizes the work that best documents America’s maritime heritage for future generations. Judging the entries this year was Rebekah Beaulieu, director of the Florence Griswold Museum, and Donn Costanzo, owner of Wooden Boatworks, Inc.

Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award

In memory of Rudolph J. Schaefer’s devotion to preserving maritime history and making it accessible and enjoyable, the judges recognize the artists whose work best documents our maritime heritage, past or present, for generations of the future.

Ronny Moortgat Flying Cloud

Judges’ comments: This work considers sea conditions in a very effective way, the power of the lowered sails to control the dynamic winds, and the bow wave depicts the vessel’s speed. The ominously obscured light source of either dawn or dusk shows a potential break in the storm. This work depicts tension and hope, illustrating a classic maritime story.

Stobart Foundation Award

Encouraging the importance of painting from life, the judges will recognize the work that attracts their attention most by virtue of its uniqueness of style, quality of light and atmosphere.

Crista Pisano Marina

Judges’ comments: Innovative in style and presentation, “Marina” depicts the bustling life across the shoreline. This crisp detail of the small work connotes skill, as well as a familiarity with traditional miniature painting techniques.

Rudolph J. Schaefer Emerging Artist Award

This award is given in memory of Rudie Schaefer, the founder and patron of the Maritime Gallery, and his lifelong commitment to recognizing and supporting new marine artists to the Gallery who have shown exceptional skill in capturing the endless beauty and heritage of the sea in painting, sculpture, scrimshaw, or ship models.

Nicolas Fox, RELIANCE vs SHAMROCK III

Maritime Gallery Yachting Award

Celebrating the singular pleasures of going to sea, the judges will recognize the work that best captures the beauty and excitement of the “sport of kings” in all its many forms.

Shane Michael Couch Puritan After the Jibe

Judges’ comments: Couch’s work showcases one of America’s great yachts, built in CT. From its balloon jib pulling the vessel across the water to the foresail and topsail illuminated by the sun. Light dances across the water, demonstrating the artist’s technical skill. The work aptly welcomes the viewer into the dynamic and energetic sport of the sea,

Marine Environmental Wildlife Award

Acknowledging the importance of preserving the fragile balance within the world’s ecosystems, the judges will recognize the work that best depicts marine mammals, fish, or birds in their native habitat.

Aleta Rossi Steward, Nice Catch

Judges’ comments: Done in a confidently photorealistic style, Steward’s work documents an important shift in our regional natural environment: the heralded return of the osprey. Almost like a still from a wildlife film, the painting captures the graceful dominance of the bird as it catches its prey, the water splashing in response.

Thomas M. Hoyne III Award

In memory of Thomas M. Hoyne, III’s dedication and contributions to accurate, historical representations of the great Gloucester fishing schooners, and the men who sailed them, the judges will recognize the work that best documents an aspect of the marine fisheries industry of today or yesterday.

Anne-Emmanuelle Marpeau Charles W. Morgan

Judges’ comments: In this mixed media piece, Marpeau brings to life the ecosystem of New Bedford in anticipation of the launch of the Charles W. Morgan. The accurate reconstruction of the elements of the piece, from the buildings to the ship to the full clothesline show the artist’s keen attention to detail and understanding of subject. A holistic, engaging, and inspiring piece.

Awards of Excellence
For an outstanding example of creativity, insight, and integrity in Marine Art.

Richard K. Loud Larchmont Race Week…

Judges’ comments: The vessels, shown actively engaging in a class race, are astutely rendered, documenting their fine craftsmanship and function. The sea is marvelously painted from its crisply cresting waves to its muddled olive and teal complexion. An elegant depiction of the sport of racing.

Cindy House Windy Day Brant

Judges’ comments: House’s work records a sighting of brant (the type of bird represented in the piece), leisurely walking along the coast while on their northern migration. The serenity of the scene belies the magnitude of their journey, and the works plays delicately between the dynamic waves, resting birds, and seaweed along the coastal land. Quiet in tone, but with a reverence for the natural world and a mastery of the pastel technique.

Maris Platais Coasting Schooners

Judges’ comments: Masterfully drawn in ink, this work is from the perspective of a land dweller observing schooners in repose near the bay of Quaddy Head, Maine. The boats are drawn accurately, even from the distant viewpoint, and the lush foliage of the pines and rocky planes of the coastline integrate in an excellent rendering of the Maine shore.

Charles R. Robinson Sunlit Surf

Judges’ comments: Unusual in perspective and unique in its representation of the coast, Robinson’s piece offers to the viewer the active interplay of the receding water and the sand, the cycle of the wave constantly returning to shore. The froth of the sea foam and aqua-emerald ocean echoes the resplendent cumulous clouds and clear sky in a scene unchanged by time.

William R. Davis Maine Harbor Sunset

Judges’ comments: As the golden sun descends over a quiet Maine coastal town, the ocean and land are ensconced in amber dusk. The ridge of the mountain in the distance positively glows under the near-neon orange illumination of the setting sun. In a skilled use of color, the artist provides a true representation of the “golden hour.”

View the Exhibition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To great acclaim, Mystic Seaport Museum opened its newest exhibition J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate on Saturday, October 5, 2019. More than 140 members had gathered early in the morning to get a preview of the show before the doors opened to the general public. During Saturday morning, Museum visitors could also follow a discussion about J.M.W. Turner between the exhibition’s curator, David Blayney Brown, Tate’s Manton Senior Curator of British Art 1790-1850, and Nicholas R. Bell, senior vice president for Curatorial Affairs at Mystic Seaport Museum, in the River Room at Latitude 41° Restaurant & Tavern.

This major exhibition is organized in cooperation with Tate and will run through February 23, 2020. The show is drawn from the renowned Turner Bequest of 1856, the vast legacy of art donated to Great Britain by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), which resides today at Tate. Mystic Seaport Museum is the only North American venue for unique exhibition.

The exhibition spans the entirety of Turner’s long career and, by focusing on the artist’s watercolors, provides insight into the private visionary behind the public figure. The viewer will see Turner’s watercolor practice evolve from aide to memory to a way of thinking with his brush–“for his own pleasure,” to borrow a phrase from a contemporary admirer, the critic John Ruskin.

“Joseph Mallord William Turner is one of the great artists of the Western Canon,” notes Stephen C. White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum, the preeminent maritime museum in the United States. “In building our new exhibition center, the Thompson Exhibition Building, which opened in 2016, we prepared for loans of this caliber. Now we are thrilled to have Turner’s watercolors here for visitors throughout the region and country.”

Tate rations display of Turner’s watercolors, given the fugitive quality of the medium. But Tate balances conservation considerations with the mission to serve new audiences. “We are exceptionally pleased to have this intimate and powerful selection of works at Mystic Seaport Museum – the result of an ambitious and rewarding collaboration between the two organizations,” says Dr. Maria Balshaw, CBE Director, Tate.

Watercolors from Tate brings together 92 watercolors, four oil paintings, and one of the artist’s last sketchbooks. “Not one of these watercolors or the sketchbook would have survived had Turner had anything to do with it,” notes Curator David Blayney Brown. Before his death, Turner sought to cement his place in history by bequeathing the contents of his studio to the British nation. He envisioned that the finished oil pictures would hang in rotation in a Turner Gallery inside the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. But that dream never came to pass and, in 1856, the Chancery Court overruled the artist’s wishes, saving the entire contents of the studio, including more than 30,000 watercolors and sketches stashed haphazardly in cupboards, crammed in drawers, and rolled between canvases.

Nicholas Bell says, “Watercolor has always been central to Turner’s art and its inspiration to others. Perhaps surprisingly for a North American audience, which has always had greater access to his oils, the watercolors have long competed in Britain with their weightier oil counterparts for museum-goers’ affections. What’s so marvelous about this gathering of loan works is that its very size makes it possible to follow Turner’s career trajectory in all its complexity.”

“Here we see not the public Turner, whose large oil paintings hung prominently in the Royal Academy, but the private artist who continually tested compositions, color, and tactile effect,” says David Blayney Brown.

Watercolors from Tate brings together luminous landscapes and atmospheric seascapes, architectural and topographical sketches, travel drawings, and even a number of intimate interior views. Some watercolors were completed in the studio; others, sketched en plein air. A number appear to have been dashed off on tiny slips of paper; others are finished works, conceived for display, incorporating ink, pencil and gouache. The earliest work on view is a romantic scene of a gorge painted in 1791 when Turner was 17 years old; the latest, painted 55 years later and exhibited at the Royal Academy five years before the artist’s death, is Whalers (Boiling Blubber) Entangled in Flaw Ice, Endeavoring to Extricate Themselves (1846).

The exhibition is organized into seven sections: “From Architecture to Landscape: Early Work,” “Nature and the Ideal: England c. 1805-15,” “Home and Abroad: 1815-30,” “Light and Color,” “The Annual Tourist: 1830-40,” and “Master and Magician: Late Work.”

The final section, “Turner and the Sea,” was curated especially for Mystic Seaport Museum. It is a selection of 17 watercolors, oils, and a sketchbook of scenes of the sea–shipwrecks, a beached boat, coastal views, and purely atmospheric images. Highlights include a graphite and watercolor drawing evoking with stark economy a vessel or whale stranded on a mountainous coast and Stormy Sea with Dolphins (c.1835-4), a major painting that last traveled to the U.S. in 1966 as part of a notable monographic exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

Publication

Conversations with Turner: The Watercolors accompanies Watercolors from Tate and is edited by Nicholas Bell.

The book’s format is inspired by this introduction of Britain’s seminal visual artist to new audiences. Following an introductory essay on Turner’s lifelong pursuit of excellence in watercolor by David Blayney Brown, an international cadre of established and rising scholars and artists meet in dialogue in a series of thematic “conversations” in print.

Addressing such areas as the evolution of Turner’s art in watercolor, evidence of rapid changes to England’s industry and culture in the early 19th century, his treatment of time and memory, and the question of how his works influence contemporary artists working today, these conversations are intended to offer the reader accessible entry points into the medium central to Turner’s development as an artist.

The book is co-published by Mystic Seaport Museum and Skira Editore.

Order your copy by calling the Museum’s Bookstore at 860.572.5386, or by clicking on the red arrow below:

Order the Book

There are two things we can say about our schooner Brilliant: the boat is fast and the boat is beautiful. This past weekend, at the annual Eggemoggin Reach Regatta in Maine, Brilliant proved once again the truth to those statements.

Captain Dan McKenzie and his crew brought Brilliant across the line for first place in her class (schooner and gaff). The Eggemoggin Reach Regatta is the premier classic yacht race on the East Coast. There were reportedly 113 vessels in Saturday’s race.

Brilliant also brought home the trophy for Most Photogenic Boat as judged by the Calendar of Wooden Boats®.

The schooner is the work of legendary naval architect Olin Stephens II, whose ability to combine speed and beauty in his designs is renowned. Brilliant was built in 1932 at the yard of Henry B. Nevins at City Island, NY. After a number of years as a yacht and a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, the boat was donated to the Museum in 1952 to become a sail training vessel, starting in 1953. More than 11,000 teenagers and adults have sailed in programs since that time. Brilliant’s excellent condition is a testament to the designers and skilled craftsmen who built her to the highest standards, and to the careful maintenance she has received ever since. Originally built for offshore cruising, Brilliant has proven herself in many races.

Congratulations to the crew and everyone who supports Brilliant over the course of the year.

 

Mystic Seaport Museum is proud to announce it is accepting pre-sale orders for its new book, Conversations with Turner: The Watercolors, published jointly with Skira. Edited by Senior Vice President for Curatorial Affairs Nicholas Bell, the book accompanies the major exhibition at the Museum opening October 5.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) is widely considered the greatest artist in the history of Britain. Central to this claim is Turner’s mastery of watercolor, a medium he tackled in childhood and returned to throughout his life as he challenged, then surpassed all expectations of what could be achieved with the simple ingredients of paper, water, and pigment.

In this book 16 scholars, historians, and artists come together for a series of thematic conversations centered on this medium. Topics include the role watercolor played in Turner’s practice, its relationship to oil painting, what these works reveal about Britain in the grips of the Industrial Revolution, Turner’s relationship to the sea, and his impact today on contemporary art.

Contributors include Glenn Adamson, John Akomfrah CBE, Timothy Barringer, David Blayney Brown, Amy Concannon, Susan Grace Galassi, Ellen Harvey, Elizabeth Helsinger, Olivier Meslay, Mariana Marchesi, Alexander Nemerov, Katie Paterson, Victoria Pomery OBE, William S. Rodner, Sam Smiles, and Scott Wilcox.

This book illustrates more than 100 watercolors from the Turner Bequest at Tate, tracking the artist’s progress as he rivaled peers in the 1790s through to the 1840s, when Turner’s annual travels to Italy, Germany, and Switzerland fed an increasingly radical approach to color and technique. Many of these works were never intended to be seen by others, and were instead painted, in contemporary art critic John Ruskin’s words, “for his own pleasure.”