J.M.W. TURNER WATERCOLORS FROM TATE
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM MAGAZINE • FALL / WINTER • 2019
TOGETHER SUPPORT MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM, WHERE WE ASPIRE EVERY DAY TO CREATE A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND TO RE-IMAGINE THE INTERCHANGE BETWEEN MARITIME HERITAGE AND BROADER CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. Just as a captain relies on his crew, the Museum depends on your Annual Fund gift. By making a donation, you stimulate wonder, excite curiosity and learning, build community, and inspire an enduring connection to America’s maritime heritage for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. We greatly appreciate your support! Please make your donation by December 31, 2019. To make your gift today, please call 860.572.5365 or visit www.mysticseaport.org/support
Mystic Seaport Museum Annual Fund 75 Greenmanville Ave • P.O. Box 6000 Mystic, CT 06355-0990 860.572.5365 • www.mysticseaport.org
CONTENTS
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM MAGAZINE is a publication of Mystic Seaport Museum PRESIDENT STEPHEN C. WHITE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT SUSAN FUNK CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER DAVID PATTEN
9
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR CURATORIAL AFFAIRS NICHOLAS BELL SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT LAURA HOPKINS EDITOR GÖRAN R BUCKHORN editor@mysticseaport.org
FALL / WINTER
PRODUCTION SUSAN HEATH DESIGN KAREN WARD DESIGN CONTRIBUTORS JESSICA FEDIN CHRIS FREEMAN LAURA HOPKINS AMANDA KEENAN
BECCA McBEE DAN McFADDEN PAUL O’PECKO SHERRI RAMELLA
12
ANDY PRICE
ANTELO DEVEREUX, JR.
TATE, LONDON, UK
IN THIS ISSUE
SEASCAPES .............................................................. 4
PHOTOGRAPHY JESSICA FEDIN
2019 ADVANCEMENT NEWS ........................................... 5-7 MUSEUM BRIEFS .................................................. 8-11
CHRIS GASIOREK JOE MICHAEL
NEW EXHIBITION: J.M.W. TURNER ...................... 12-13
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVES
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM AT 90 ........................ 14-17 SEA LEVEL RISE ................................................. 18-19 ON THE COVER: Detail, Tate: Whitby, c. 1824, J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) © Tate, London 2018.
ON BOOKS ....................................................... 20-21 FROM THE COLLECTIONS ........................................ 22 EVENTS AT MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM ..................... 23
CONTACT US VISITOR INFORMATION: 860.572.5315
14
ADMINISTRATION: 860.572.0711 ADVANCEMENT: 860.572.5365 MEMBERSHIP: 860.572.5339 PROGRAM RESERVATION: 860.572.5331 MUSEUM STORE: 860.572.5385 MARITIME GALLERY: 860.572.5388 VOLUNTEER SERVICES: 860.572.5378 PLEASE GO TO THE MUSEUM’S WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ON FALL AND WINTER SCHEDULES. ADDRESS: 75 GREENMANVILLE AVE. P.O. BOX 6000 MYSTIC, CT 06355-0990 WWW.MYSTICSEAPORT.ORG
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FALL / WINTER 2019
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3
SEASCAPES
As we approach Mystic Seaport Muse-
It is ironic, then, that as central to our
um’s 90th anniversary on December 25,
identity as this waterway is, the river itself
2019, it is natural to reflect on the institu-
is prompting staff to thoughtfully consider
tion’s past as we prepare for the decade
the Museum’s next stage of evolution.
leading up to our centennial celebration
The effects of sea-level rise threaten the
in 2029. We have come quite far since
visitor experience and the collection of
our three founders, Carl Cutler, Edward
historic buildings that are so aligned with
Bradley, and Charles Stillman, conceived
our identity. The very real challenges that
the then Marine Historical Association on the banks of the Mystic River. It’s hard to know just what they envisioned for the future, but I think it’s safe to assume that they would be proud of what we have built upon their foundation. From the earliest days, as they collected manuscripts, saved models and half hulls, and acquired watercraft and buildings, all three knew that the Museum had to tell the story of America’s
SEASCAPES
2029 AND BEYOND!
relationship with the sea. They felt that the Museum should be educational in
we face will require a significant shift for the Museum over the next 35 years so we may celebrate our 125th anniversary on dry ground, while still honoring the river and its legacy. As you will see in this issue of the Magazine, we established several working groups to study the issue and Mystic Seaport Museum will, as it has always done, meet these challenges head-on with care and wisdom. As the Museum enters its 90th year and the decade beyond, we will see partnerships with new organizations that will
purpose, national in scope (sometimes beyond!), and an in-
not only help maximize the use of our property and assets, but
spirational force for the future. That’s as close to the original
also provide new, 21st-century opportunities for our visitors
mission statement as one can find, and I think it’s safe to say
and for school children. We will see, I trust, the long standing
that we haven’t waivered from the original intent and have built
dream of a watercraft hall finally realized; we will see the Mu-
upon it to address the needs of a growing institution and the
seum grow its endowment in celebration of the first 100 years
changing views and values of our members and visiting public.
so that the next 100 are guaranteed regardless of financial
The transition from a small exhibiting historical association
or physical challenges that might come the Museum’s way;
to a vibrant history museum showcasing the Charles W. Mor-
we will see the Museum continue in its role as a conveyor of
gan and the Seaport Village addressed the growing need for a
exhibitions, symposia, learning experiences, and community
participatory educational program that would respond well to
forums; we will see the Museum’s continued dedication to a
some three million school children who would carry forward
place that helps define southeastern Connecticut and Mys-
with them the distinctive Mystic Seaport Museum experience.
tic, specifically. The next 10 years should be memorable and
The Museum evolved to become an exemplar for the principles
significant as the Museum defines its role in a new century as
of public history and then broadened its range, once again, to
we reimagine the interchange between maritime heritage and
showcase nationally and internationally noteworthy exhibitions.
broader contemporary culture.
Throughout these transformations, there were two significant and interrelated constants: the Museum staff and the Mystic
Carl, Edward, and Charles would have been proud to see how far the Museum has come.
River. Without these two components, the Museum would likely be nothing more than an archive. Instead, the combination of human spirit, knowledge, and the profound sense of place along the river makes Mystic Seaport Museum stand out among all maritime museums worldwide.
4
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FALL / WINTER 2019
STEPHEN C. WHITE, President
A D VA N C E M E N T N E W S
Alden Alexander
Lyndon Haviland
Peter McCracken
Christopher J. McMahon
Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash
Russell A. Potter
Dawn Riley
WHO IS NEW ON THE PRESIDENT’S ADVISORY COUNCIL? Mystic Seaport Museum
Alden Alexander is opera-
Christopher J. McMahon,
has written extensively about
President Steve White an-
tions manager and associate
Rear Admiral, USMS has been
the 19th-century fascination
at Mallard Creek Capital Part-
on the Naval War College fac-
with the Arctic and his books
ners and a member of Mystic
ulty since 2014 as the Emory
include Arctic Spectacles: The
Seaport Museum’s Facilities
S. Land Chair for Merchant
Frozen North in Visual Culture
Committee. Previously, she
Marine Affairs where he also
1818-1875 (2007) and Find-
was a professional competi-
serves as a professor of Joint
ing Franklin: The Untold Story
tive sailor racing on the inter-
Military Operations. He has
of a 165-Year Search (2016).
national circuit. She holds a
been a member of the Federal
He holds a Ph.D. from Brown
USCG 100-ton Master license.
Senior Executive Service (SES)
University and is an Honor-
Lyndon Haviland holds a
since 2004 and was founding
ary Lifetime Member of Mystic
doctorate in public health
director of the Global Maritime
from Columbia University and
and Transportation School
Seaport Museum.
The 30 PAC members have experience and expertise in
has more than 25 years of ex-
(GMATS). He is a member of
perience in domestic and in-
the Facilities Committee at
ternational public health. She
Mystic Seaport Museum.
nounced recently that the Museum has seven new President’s Advisory Council (PAC) members. PAC is a special volunteer advisory council appointed by the president together with the board chairman.
all areas of the Museum’s work and bring valuable skills to the table. They serve three-year terms. Here is a little bit about each of the new members.
is a passionate advocate for
Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash
human rights and is dedi-
(Many Hearts) Marilynn “Lynn”
cated to bringing individuals
Malerba is the 18th Chief of
and organizations together to
the Mohegan Tribe and is the
achieve lasting social change.
first female Chief in the tribe’s
Peter McCracken is elec-
modern history. The position
tronic resources librarian at
is a lifetime appointment
Cornell University Library and
made by the Tribe’s Coun-
co-founder and publisher
cil of Elders. Preceding her
of ShipIndex.org. He holds
work for the Mohegan Tribe,
a Master in Library Science
she worked as the director
and a Master in Maritime His-
of Cardiology and Pulmonary
tory and previously worked as
Services at Lawrence & Me-
a reference librarian at East
morial Hospital. She holds a
Carolina University and the
doctor of Nursing Practice
University of Washington. In
from Yale University and was
2000, he co-founded Serials
named a Jonas Scholar.
Solutions with his brothers
Russell A. Potter is profes-
and a high school friend; the
sor of English and Media Stud-
company was acquired by
ies at Rhode Island College in
ProQuest in 2004.
Providence, Rhode Island. He
Dawn Riley, the 2018 America and the Sea Award honoree, is the executive director at Oakcliff Sailing, a non-profit, coaching and training center in Oyster Bay, New York. She is one of the best-known sailors in the world with four America’s Cups and two Whitbread Round the World Races as well as a handful of World Championships to her name. She is still the only woman and youngest CEO of an America’s Cup Team. You will find the full list of the President’s Advisory Council on the Museum’s website: www.mysticseaport.org/ about/the-presidentsadvisory-council/ Laura Hopkins is senior vice president for Advancement & Becca McBee is executive assistant to President Steve White.
FALL / WINTER 2019
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5
A D VA N C E M E N T N E W S
2019 America and the Sea Award – Wendy Schmidt, October 30, 2019 Mystic Seaport Museum is delighted to award American businesswoman and
We sincerely thank the following sponsors (as of September 5, 2019):
Platinum:
Bronze:
black tie gala on October 30 at the Met-
Eric and Wendy Schmidt (x2)
ropolitan Club in New York City.
Gold:
Maarten de Jong and Kendra Matthew
philanthropist Wendy Schmidt with the 2019 America and the Sea Award at a
Betsy and Hunt Lawrence
Peggy and Grant Cambridge
Glenmede Endowment and Foundation Management
begin with a cocktail reception with
J. Barclay Collins, II
Renate and Peter Gleysteen
the honoree, followed by dinner, award
Travelers
Michael S. Hudner
presentation, auction, and paddle raise.
Silver:
Mr. and Mrs. Dudley D. Johnson
The celebratory annual event will
Sponsorships range from $10,000$50,000; single tickets are $1,000. Tables are nearly sold out! Please
Gowrie Group Irene and Charles Hamm KPMG
contact the Advancement Department
Joanne and Michael Masin
at advancement@mysticseaport.org or
Cayre and Alexis Michas
860.572.5365 for more information.
Wendy Schmidt is the 2019 America and the Sea Award recipient.
Cece and Richard Armstrong
Cynthia and Robert Martin Sheila McCurdy and David Brown Carol and Robert Musetti Laurie Olson and Maria Fasulo Susan and Martin Wayne Betsy and George White
Sherri Ramella is Advancement events manager.
FUND CREATED TO HONOR STAN HUGILL This June, Mystic Seaport
Museum, and it is thanks to
Museum celebrated the Sea
his efforts that audiences can
Music Festival’s 40th Anniver-
enjoy this music today.
sary. Performers from around
the
festival,
Geoff
Kaufman announced he is
across the Museum grounds.
stepping down as the director
For four nights and three
of the festival after 35 years
days, the Museum was filled
as a chanteyman at the Muse-
with folk music and hands-on
um. He will continue to serve
shipboard experiences. The
as the Museum’s liaison with
roster featured performanc-
the Friends of the Festival do-
es by John Conolly, the Swiss
nor group, working to ensure
Mariners, and Ron and Natalie
this important event is en-
Daise, along with a wonderful
joyed by future generations.
lineup of old friends.
6
At
the world graced the stages
Performer John Roberts
In honor of more than four
recently spoke about the
decades of exhilarating mu-
impact this festival has had
sic programming, the Museum
in his life: “They [the songs]
began a campaign for the
show something about the
Stan Hugill Memorial Endow-
nature of humanity. They
ment for Live Performance.
show something about the
Stan Hugill (1906-1992) was
way culture was, the way life
tion of this endowment. So far
Amanda Keenan at amanda.
the last sailor to work as a
was. The ships are still here.
more than $22,000 has been
keenan@mysticseaport.org
chanteyman under sail. After
If we teach about the ships,
raised toward the Museum’s
retiring to dry land, Stan con-
we can teach about the music
goal of $100,000. However,
Chris Freeman is director of
tinued to perform sea music
that went with them.”
more is needed to establish
After 35 years as a chanteyman at the Museum, Geoff Kaufman retired. New Chantey Foreman Anayis (A.J.) Wright (pictured here) and Bonnie Milner will co-direct the festival in 2020.
and wrote books that are the
The Museum was thrilled
an endowment fund to honor
cornerstone to this maritime
to host Stan’s sons, Philip
Stan’s legacy. We invite you
tradition. He spent many
and Martin Hugill, for the an-
to participate in this effort.
years visiting Mystic Seaport
nouncement of the founda-
To learn more, please contact
| Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine |
FALL / WINTER 2019
Development and Legacy Giving & Amanda Keenan is Advancement officer.
A D VA N C E M E N T N E W S February 21 Presentation by Nicholas Bell at American Yacht Club March 21 Cruising Club of America at Mystic Seaport Museum for lunch and private tour of collections March 25 America and the Sea Society behind-the-scenes tour of collections March 29 New York Yacht Club at Mystic Seaport Museum for lunch and private tour of collections May 17 Chairman J. Barclay Collins II appreciation dinner
2019 ADVANCEMENT EVENTS
Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous Parade.
May 22 Lunch and private tour of the of the Metropolitan Museum of Art June 5 Presentation by Nicholas Bell at New York Yacht Club June 14 America and the Sea Society private viewing of Streamlined: From Hull to Home June 22 Carl Cutler Society appreciation dinner July 12 Our Life in Six Boats presentation by Barbara and Steve Watson for our America and the Sea Society donors
America and the Sea Society Private Tour of our Collections. Carl Cutler Society Appreciation Dinner.
July 28 Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous Parade September 7 Mayflower II Launch October 4 Private formal opening celebration of J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate
Our Life in Six Boats presentation by Barbara and Steve Watson.
America and the Sea Society Private Viewing of Streamlined: From Hull to Home.
October 5 America and the Sea Society private viewing of J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate
TAKING TURNER ON THE ROAD In the six months leading up to the
Nicholas captivated
show realizes the Museum’s aspirational
October 5 opening of J.M.W. Turner: Wa-
his audiences with
goal for the new exhibition building. Shar-
tercolors from Tate, Nicholas Bell, senior
the back story on
ing images of paintings that will be on
vice president for Curatorial Affairs, gave
how he brought this
view at the Museum beginning October
presentations to more than a dozen
internationally trav-
5 has inspired enthusiasm not only for
yacht clubs, museums, and alumni clubs
eling exhibition of 90
the Turner exhibition, but for the entire
along the East Coast, including:
watercolor paintings
Era of Exhibitions. As a direct result of
to
Seaport
these presentations, we believe people
Museum
who have never been to the Museum,
trustees and leaders built the Thomp-
or who have not been here in decades,
son Exhibition Building to have state-of-
now plan to return and visit the Turner
the-art systems and security capable of
exhibition. The Museum thanks each of
presenting an exhibition of the caliber of
these organizations for their welcome
J.M.W. Turner. Through Nicholas’s pre-
and hospitality, and we deeply appre-
sentation, audiences learned about the
ciate the wonderfully generous donors
historic significance of becoming the only
whose support makes the Era of Ex-
North American venue for this interna-
hibitions, and the Turner exhibition in
tionally touring exhibition and that the
particular, possible.
American Yacht Club, Rye, NY Essex Yacht Club, Essex, CT Ferguson Museum, Fishers Island, NY John’s Island Club, Vero Beach, FL Madison Beach Club, Madison, CT Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC New York Yacht Club, 44th Street, NYC Seawanhaka Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, NY Shelter Island Yacht Club, Shelter Island, NY Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT Yale Club, NYC
Mystic
Museum.
FALL / WINTER 2019
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7
MUSEUM BRIEFS
REMEMBERING WILLITS D. ANSEL Mystic Seaport Museum was saddened to learn of
He was back in the Shipyard from 1985 to 1989.
the passing of master boat
Will did research and built
builder, author, and artist Wil-
replica whaleboats to out-
lits “Will” Dyer Ansel on April 12,
fit the Museum’s whaleship,
2019, at the age of 90.
the Charles W. Morgan. Out of
Will Ansel was born on
this work came the wonderful
March 1, 1929, into a Navy
book The Whaleboat: A Study
family in Long Beach, Cali-
of Design, Construction and
fornia. Will spent a few child-
Use From 1850-1970 (1978;
hood years in exotic places
2nd ed. 1983; 3rd and extend-
like China and the Philippines
ed ed. 2014, with additional
before his family had to flee
chapters by Will’s son, Walter,
Japanese forces during World
and his granddaughter, Ev-
War II. He graduated from
elyn). Will wrote a handful of
Stanford University and then
books and many articles for
served onboard a U.S. Navy
The Log of Mystic Seaport and
destroyer during the Korean
WoodenBoat Magazine – and
War before he joined the sub-
I’m happy to say, one article
marine service. Later, Will
for this publication in 2014.
was employed by the Foreign
During his boatbuilding ca-
Service, and afterwards he
reer, Will built about 50 his-
taught at the Sidwell Friends
toric small craft. He continued
his son Walter, who is a senior
daunting task to put down on
School in Washington, D.C. At
to build boats after his retire-
shipwright at the Shipyard. It
paper. I could only imagine. I
that time, Will was a teacher
ment. He built these boats
was during this time I came
really don’t know how far he
on weekdays and an amateur
“out in the woods,” which was
to know Will. We both loved
got with this book.
boat builder on weekends.
the backyard of the rustic,
books and boats and contin-
Will, a true Renaissance
In 1970, Will moved his
self-built, wooden cabin in
ued to meet on and off when
man who always had a twin-
family to Mystic where he
Maine where he stayed when
he came down from Maine.
kle in his eyes, will be greatly
took a job as a shipwright at
he was not living in Old Mystic.
Will’s final book project was
missed. The Museum extends
Mystic Seaport Museum. He
Though Will had officially
about “the oar.” I would see
our heartfelt condolences to
stayed in the Museum’s Henry
retired from the Museum, he
him at the Museum’s research
his wife, Hanneli, and family.
B. duPont Preservation Ship-
came back to teach some
library, behind a pile of books,
yard until 1982 when he took a
shipwrights how to build
making notes. He told me that
Göran R Buckhorn is editor of
brief break from the Museum.
whaleboats in 2002, including
the history of the oar was a
Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine.
THE MUSEUM PLANS FOR NEW RESTAURANT AND HOTEL
8
On June 13, as Mystic Sea-
The new hotel and res-
new building will continue
and restaurant building will be
port Museum announced the
taurant building is being de-
the Museum’s role as a su-
set closer to the Mystic River.
construction of an underwa-
veloped in partnership with
perior venue for weddings,
The present restaurant
ter research and education
Greenwich Hospitality Group
corporate meetings, and
building, formerly called the
center in partnership with the
and will be built on the site
group events in the Mystic
Seamen’s Inne, was pur-
Global Foundation for Ocean
of Latitude 41° Restaurant &
area and the restaurant will
pose-built by the Museum in
Exploration (GFOE), the Muse-
Tavern. Plans call for the de-
provide a fine-dining destina-
1964 to be a restaurant and
um also revealed a proposed
molition of Latitude 41° and
tion for Museum visitors and
event space.
plan to build a new restaurant
the construction of a 20-25
the public.
and hotel at the north end of
room hotel with a restau-
While Latitude 41° is close
its campus.
rant and event space. The
to Route 27, the new hotel
| Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine |
FALL / WINTER 2019
MUSEUM BRIEFS
MAYFLOWER II LAUNCHED
This partnership is an example of how two museums can successfully collaborate
Plimoth Plantation’s May-
executive director of the
flower II, which arrived at
Massachusetts Bible Society,
Mystic Seaport Museum in
and Kerri Helme, of Plimoth
November 2016 to undergo a
Plantation’s leadership team
multi-year restoration, was
and the Mashpee Wampanoag
launched into the Mystic River
nation. Keynote speaker was
at the Henry B. duPont Pres-
Nathaniel Philbrick, bestselling
ervation Shipyard at a grand
author of, among many books,
bow. The event was hosted by
Seaport Museum preparing
public celebration on Sep-
Mayflower: A Story of Courage,
Jared Bowen, WGBH Boston’s
for her spring 2020 depar-
tember 7.
Community, and War (2006).
Executive Arts Editor.
ture. She will make her way
to achieve a complex project within tight time constraints,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. Mayflower II will stay over the winter at Mystic
At the launch were Pli-
A ceremonial christening of
“We are very proud to have
to a maritime festival at the
moth Plantation and Mystic
Mayflower II was performed
contributed our knowledge
Charlestown Navy Yard in
by Harriet Cross, British Con-
and expertise of the resto-
Boston in May 2020 and then
sul General to New England,
ration of this historic vessel
sail back to Plimoth Planta-
who broke a bottle with wa-
to enable the ship to partici-
tion for the 400th anniver-
ter from all 50 states as well
pate in the commemoration
sary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in
as Plymouth, UK, and Leiden,
of the 400th anniversary of
1620. For more details, visit
the Netherlands, on the ship’s
the Pilgrims’ arrival in 1620.
www.mayflowersails2020.com
Seaport Museum dignitaries, special invited guests, the ship’s restoration team, and members from both Plimoth Plantation and Mystic Seaport Museum. The event featured a program with the U.S. Coast Guard Band and singers Gilly Assunção and Justin Gigiello. An invocation was held by Reverend Anne Robertson,
“The Mayflower II is much more than a replica of a famous ship. She is a
famous ship in her own right. She is also a symbol, a source of inspiration to those in search of new beginnings and the possibility of multi-cultural cooperation in this nation of immigrants. She also speaks to the dark truths
”
underlying the settlement of New England and America.
— Nathaniel Philbrick at the launch of Mayflower II.
FALL / WINTER 2019
| Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine |
9
MUSEUM BRIEFS
DARK HARBOR 20 CLASS RECEIVES THE 2019 WILLIAM A. BAKER AWARD signers Olin Stephens II and
“The owners of the Dark
Drake Sparkman in response
Harbor 20s are to be com-
to a request from members of the Tarratine Club for a new sloop for club racing. The resulting boat is a narrow, fin-keel hull with long overhangs and a Bermuda rig. The first batch of 16 boats was built by George Lawley in Neponset, Massachusetts, during 1934-35. Dark Harbor 20s running under spinnakers. Photo by Antelo (Dev) Devereaux
sailing is a remarkable accomplishment and yet there is room for a next generation to continue the class for the future,” said Steve White, Museum. “We are proud to
maritime historian, and de-
honor the Dark Harbor 20
liam A. Baker Award was
the Tarratine Club. Nineteen
vessels — including Mayflower
presented to the Dark Har-
of the original 21 Dark Harbor
II. It is intended to promote
bor 20 Class at the Tarratine
20s are still actively sailed.
the awareness and appre-
Club of Dark Harbor, Maine,
This is why Mystic Seaport
ciation of fine examples of
on July 31.
Museum proudly recognized
one-design classes or boats
For 83 years, the families
the Dark Harbor 20 Class and
of like kind, foster faithful
of Islesboro, Maine, have
owners with the William A.
preservation and restoration,
kept their fleet of Dark Harbor
Baker Award for 2019.
encourage more people to do
designed in 1934 by yacht de-
the inaugural fleet are still
Bill Baker, a naval architect, signer of replicas of historic
nobscott Bay and contesting
of the class. That so many of
president of Mystic Seaport
for victory at races held by
The Dark Harbor 20 was
to authenticity and active use
The award is named after
The Museum’s 2019 Wil-
20s sailing the waters of Pe-
mended for their dedication
owners for their continued effort to allow future generations to sail and enjoy these fine boats.” The William A. Baker Award was established by Mystic Seaport Museum in 1989, and over the past 29 years, the
it, and keep vessels afloat and
award has been presented
actively sailing.
to 15 boat classes.
BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ RECEIVES THE 2019 WILLIAM P. STEPHENS AWARD
10
The 2019 William P. Ste-
Mendlowitz’s photographs
Rosenfeld family chronicled
portant vessels from our gen-
phens Award was presented
have appeared on the covers
American yachting in the
eration. His work helped drive
on July 31 to the renowned
of or been featured in many
early- and mid-20th century
the renaissance of wooden
maritime photographer Benja-
of the most respected boating
with their iconic black-and-
boats in America over the last
min Mendlowitz, who has trav-
magazines all over the world.
white photographs, Mend-
40 years.”
eled the world to photograph
He has also been published
lowitz applies his talented
wooden boats.
in non-boating magazines
eye and intuitive
award has been
This is the 18th time the
The William P. Stephens
including Esquire, Atlantic
sense of light and
handed out since
Award, established by Mystic
Monthly, Yankee Magazine,
curve to portray
it was established
Seaport Museum and named
Sports Illustrated, The London
the classic boats
in 1988.
for the man known to many as
Times Magazine, The New York
that remain from
the “Dean of American Yachts-
Times Magazine, and Archi-
the past and to
men” and “The Grand Old Man
tectural Digest.
document the im-
of American Yachting,” is given
“We are deeply honored to
by Mystic Seaport Museum in
present this award to Benja-
recognition of a significant and
min Mendlowitz to recognize
enduring contribution to the
his life’s work capturing the
history, preservation, prog-
beauty and craftsmanship of
ress, understanding, or appre-
wooden boats,” said Mystic
ciation of American yachting
Seaport Museum President
and boating.
Steve White. “Much like the
| Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine |
FALL / WINTER 2019
Courtesy of Benjamin Menlowitz
MUSEUM BRIEFS
THE 2019 CELEBRATION OF VOLUNTEERS EveAnne Stouch, associate
time Achievement Award to
director of Volunteer Services,
Rebecca “Becky” Jackson,
welcomed around 170 Mystic
who has volunteered at the
Seaport Museum volunteers,
Museum for 36 years, most
staff, and guests, including the
recently in the Membership
new Chairman of the Museum
lounge. She and her husband,
Board, Michael Hudner, to the
Harry Jackson, were found-
2019 Celebration of Volunteers
ing members of the Museum’s
Awards, held in the River Room
PILOTS program.
at Latitude 41° Restaurant &
Four more volunteer awards
Tavern on July 17. This annual
were presented that evening.
event honors the around 650
The Volunteer Special Recogni-
volunteers at the Museum.
tion Award had two recipients,
The 2019 William C. Noyes
Martha Murphy, who volunteers
Volunteer of the Year Award
in the Rosenfeld Collection, and
was presented to RJ Lavallee,
Andy Strode, who volunteers
a member of the Watercraft
in the Boathouse. The Junior
Gung Ho Squad, who received
Volunteer Special Recognition
the award from Susan Noyes,
Award went to Molly Kulick of
daughter of William and Bettye
the Museum’s Sailing Center.
Noyes. According to his co-
Chris Freeman, director of De-
workers: “He’s always cheer-
velopment and Legacy Giving,
ful, a team-player, and truly
received the Special Staff Rec-
unique,” Susan Noyes said.
ognition Award for successfully
Thereafter, Steve White, president of the Museum,
running the PILOTS program for the last 10 years.
presented the 2019 Rudolph J. Schaefer III Volunteer LifeRight top: RJ Lavallee received the William C. Noyes Volunteer of the Year Award. Seen here with Susan Noyes. Right: Steve White presented the Rudolph J. Schaefer III Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award to Becky Jackson.
THE MUSEUM PLANS FOR AN UNDERWATER RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER On June 13, Mystic Seaport
campus. The organization de-
behind the south parking lot.
of the cutting-edge technolo-
Museum announced a part-
signs, builds, and operates
The first phase of this fa-
gies that GFOE uses in ocean
nership with the Global Foun-
some of the most advanced
cility will house a work area
exploration. Plans for the sec-
dation for Ocean Exploration
underwater
technologies
for the research and devel-
ond phase will include a pool
(GFOE), which has plans to
used for scientific exploration.
opment of underwater tech-
for testing underwater robots
construct an underwater re-
GFOE proposes to create an
nologies. In addition, GFOE will
and other technologies, while
search and education center
Underwater Research and Ed-
provide interactive, hands-
providing a space for hands-
at the Museum.
ucation Center on land to be
on displays in the Museum’s
on activities for students and the public.
The GFOE is a nonprofit
leased from the Museum next
Clift Block building, which will
organization currently head-
to the James T. Carlton Ma-
demonstrate to Museum visi-
quartered on the Museum’s
rine Science Center, located
tors and school groups some
FALL / WINTER 2019
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11
NEW EXHIBITION: J.M.W. TURNER
Tate: A Mountainous Coast with a Stranded Vessel, or Whale, Possibly at Penmaenmawr or in North-East England, c. 1825-38, J .M. W. Turner (1775–1851) © Tate, London 2018.
TURNER’S BOLD BRUSH WITH MODERNITY BY JESSICA FEDIN How does an early 19thcentury British artist continue to captivate 21st-century contemporaries? The secret lies in J.M.W. Turner’s more abstract and— some may say — “unfinished” works, many of which are his watercolors, 92 of which will be on display in J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors
Academy, a small red buoy in a
ebrates Turner’s increasing
were more in vogue. Turner
matter of minutes at the same
relevance. Exhibitions such
changed that. Much to the
time as Constable meticu-
as Katie Paterson’s A place
chagrin of other contempo-
lously labored over his sub-
that exists only in moonlight
raries and even Queen Victo-
mission. Constable remarked
intentionally choose to engage
ria, who referred to one of his
afterwards “He [Turner] has
in sublime conversations with
paintings as “a dirty, yellow
been here and fired a gun.” He
Turner’s work. Interspersed
mess,” Turner set painting free
even shunned the fashionable
among 20 “haikus” and mod-
from its conventions, going as
and aristocratic accent of the
ern–day meditations on time,
far as adding curry powder
times in favor of retaining his
space, and the universe’s light
and spit to his boldly ambigu-
London Cockney accent.
sat Turner’s watercolors— his
In spite of his rollercoast-
most abstract and deft por-
Turner didn’t want to fit in
er professional brand during
trayal of light. Water coloring
— he was an artistic rebel. For
his lifetime, Turner’s more
as a medium is perfect for ex-
better or worse, he ignored his
abstract pieces continue to
pressing mood and revealing
critics and quarreled with col-
hold their relevance today and
light’s subtle poetry: the way
land-
leagues, such as when Turner
inspire cutting-edge, present-
light illuminates our world. The
scapes may be all too familiar
upstaged Constable with a few
day artists. Turner Contem-
Watercolors from Tate exhibi-
to us today, in Turner’s day
quick brushstrokes by paint-
porary, a gallery founded in
tion is therefore an ideal forum
and age, grand-scale por-
ing, on the spot at the Royal
2001 in Margate, England, cel-
through which to experience
from Tate, opening October 5 in the Collins Gallery of the Thompson Exhibition Building at Mystic Seaport Museum. While
12
traits and historical depictions
traditional
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ous brush strokes.
FALL / WINTER 2019
NEW EXHIBITION: J.M.W. TURNER [American abstract artist Mark] Rothko famously quipped at an exhibition of Turner’s at the MoMA in New York in 1966, “This guy Turner, he learnt a lot from me.”
Tate: Venice: Looking across the Lagoon at Sunset, 1840, J.M.W. Turner (1775 – 1851) © Tate, London 2018.
Turner in his bolder and more
Manhattan, who commissioned
abstract form.
the works, to be the only view-
Many decades after Turner
ers). Rothko famously quipped
passed, one of the most fa-
at an exhibition of Turner’s at
mous and celebrated artistic
the MoMA in New York in 1966,
cohorts ever, the Impression-
“This guy Turner, he learnt a lot
ists, were delighted and in-
from me.”
spired by Turner’s mastery of
More recently, artist Sean
atmosphere and mood. They
Scully’s
were trying to achieve what
National Gallery in London
Turner had started; their art
featured a singular outside
celebrated the feeling, the
piece: Turner’s breathtaking
impression, and stirred emo-
beachscape The Evening Star.
tion rather than creating strict
Why was this work from 1830
realism. French artists such
chosen to be placed among
as Claude Monet and Camille
a dozen modern-day Scully
Pissarro came to London dur-
abstractions? Scully feels an
ing the Franco-Prussian War
affinity and kinship with Turner
of 1870-1871 and chose to
for precisely the reason Turn-
pursue similar patterns and
er’s contemporary critics often
themes to that of Turner’s
scoffed; by refusing to paint
work — experimenting with in-
scenes that neatly settle into
novative and unconventional
precise objects, Turner was an
painting techniques and fo-
early adopter of abstraction.
cusing on the hazy effects of
He was ahead of his time.
light and weather.
exhibition
Watercolors
at
from
the
Tate
Sea Star: Sean Scully at the National Gallery.
marina can be seen. How
tinue to this day to draw in-
does an artist capture a mo-
spiration from Turner’s work
ment as ephemeral as a sun-
points to his lasting relevance
set over water? Which colors
then and now. The beauty of
are more or less vivid in your own mind if you were to recall one? Less peaceful and moodier is Turner’s A Mountainous Coast with a Stranded Vessel, or Whale, where two circular pencil marks (can you spot them in the painting on the opposite page?) stir passionate artistic debate about whether a stranded whale or vessel is depicted. It’s up to
Popular American abstract
has a number of scenes dis-
artist Mark Rothko donated his
solving toward abstraction,
Seagram Murals to the Tate in
most notably Venice, Looking
London in part because of his
across the Lagoon at Sunset.
vast admiration for Turner (and
The warm, vibrant yellow and
evoke a feeling of danger
because he secretly didn’t
orange sunset blends into the
and turbulence.
want the rich milieu of the
horizon and the slightest im-
The fact that artists of
most expensive restaurant in
pression of a small boat and
varying backgrounds con-
viewers to decide! The jagged mountainside and the grey stormy brushstrokes
abstraction is that anyone can find a connection, feel a sense of mood, or admire the way the light falls on the sea, and not need to “get it.” From architecture to calming landscapes to churning seascapes, there is something in Turner’s work for each individual to discover. J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate will be shown between October 5 and February 23, 2020. Jessica Fedin is a marketing strategist from Capital Group Companies, currently on fourmonth non-profit assignment with Mystic Seaport Museum.
FALL / WINTER 2019
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Mystic Seaport Museum at 90
1940
Clifford D. Mallory Sr. presents the sardine carrier Regina M. (b. around 1900) to the Museum.
On Christmas Day, Mystic Seaport Museum turns 90 years old. This timeline shows some of the highlights during the Museum’s history from its beginning as a local maritime association to its current status as the leading maritime museum in the USA.
1941
1949
(Nov. 8): Whaleship Charles W. Morgan (b. 1841) arrives at the Museum.
Stillman House (now Administration Building), built by Clark Greenman, is presented by Harriet G. Stillman. Marine training program begins aboard the Conrad. Actor Buster Keaton visits the Museum (pic. onboard the Conrad). Attendance 36,505; admission 50¢ adults, 25¢ children. Membership 1,926.
1942
1950
The Morgan opens to the public.
Volunteer Office opens. First Dyer Dhow Derby.
1951
1943
Plan to build a seafaring village takes form. Attendance 7,050. Membership 384. Buckingham House arrives on a barge from Saybrook, CT (pic. below by the Morgan). Mallory Sailing Loft is donated to the Museum and is moved on a barge from downtown Mystic (pic. above). Greenmanville Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House (Church) is purchased Staff: 27 full-time, 14 part-time. Volunteer corps: 250.
1929
1944
(Dec. 25): Three Mystic residents, (l.t.r.) Carl C. Cutler, Edward E. Bradley, and Dr. Charles K. Stillman, meet to incorporate the Marine Historical Association, later called Mystic Seaport Museum.
1929
1930
1931 1932 1933 1934
1935
Driggs-Peters Shipsmith Shop is presented to the Museum by Whaling Enshrined, Inc., former owner of the Morgan (seen here at a later date).
1936 1937 1938 1939
1930
First Annual Meeting: nine members present (out of 27).
1940
1941 1942 1943 1944
Thomas Greenman House is presented by Mrs. E.S. Harkness.
Education Department is established by Marion Dickerman (pic.). Shipyard Point is presented by Harriet Greenman Stillman. Lecture Series (now Adventure Series) begins.
Dr. Stillman donates the first vessel to the Museum’s collection, sandbagger Annie (b. 1880), seen above on the Anchor Circle. The Museum’s first exhibit opens in the Wendell Building; pic. below from 1951.
1946 1947 1948 1949
1947
Full-rigged ship Joseph Conrad (b. 1882) donated to the Museum by Act of Congress (seen here in a more recent photo).
1953
The Museum offers guided tours led by college students.
1954
Cora Mallory Munson endows the Frank C. Munson Memorial Institute of American History. A building is moved from Pawcatuck, CT, to house George H. Stone collection (now General Store). Marion Dickerman’s friend Eleanor Roosevelt (pic.) visits the Museum.
Schaefer Spouter Tavern opens.
1935
Mystic Bank is dismantled at Old Mystic; reconstruction begins at the Museum. “Mystic Seaport” first used to describe the Museum. First issue of The Log of Mystic Seaport is published.
Summer attendance 184; admission 25¢.
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1951
Schooner Brilliant is presented by Briggs Cunningham (cruises begin in 1953).
1956
1948
1950
1952
1945
1946
1931
1945
1965
Mildred C. Mallory Memorial Membership Building opens. Dedication of G.W. Blunt White Library.
Mid-1960s
With interstate highways, automobiles, and requisite family vacations, historical tourism becomes a growing industry; here is the Museum’s parking lot.
1957
1972
Open-hearth cooking demonstrations begin in Buckingham House. Newly formed Demonstration Squad and a chanteyman begin live demonstrations of maritime skills. Museum Board votes to purchase Rossie Mill property.
1973
Steamboat Sabino (b. 1908) arrives for one-year trial charter (the Museum buys her in 1974). First PILOTS weekend. The Morgan floats free for the first time in 32 years.
Author, sailor, and former owner of the Conrad, Alan Villiers, gives a speech at the celebration of the ship’s 75th Anniversary. The Museum has 45 buildings on its campus.
1966
The Morgan is designated a National Historic Landmark. Volunteer corps 300.
1968
1958
New exhibits arrive: New Shoreham Life-Saving Station from Block Island and Half-way House from Cape Cod; the latter was air-lifted by a Marine Corps helicopter to a waiting trailer. Attendance 548,139. Membership 12,556.
Carol Sing by the Morgan.
1960
Planetarium opens.
1952 1953 1954
1955
1956 1957 1958 1959
1962
Opening of new exhibits: Doctor’s Office, Hoop Shop, Print Shop, and Weave Shop.
1960
1961 1962 1963 1964
1965
1966 1967 1968 1969
1969 Noank smack sloop Emma C. Berry (b. 1866) is presented by F. Slade Dale (restoration begins later that year; relaunches in 1971). Ames Fish House arrives from Lincolnville, ME.
1970
1971 1972 1973 1974
1975
1974
Museum officially called Mystic Seaport, Inc. Construction of new wharf for the Morgan.
1975
Dedication of R.J. Schaefer Building. French Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau tours the Museum.
1963
Fishing schooner L.A. Dunton (b. 1921) is purchased in Grand Bank, Newfoundland (arrives at the Museum in 1964). Library has 10,646 books, 1,628 periodicals, and 68,614 manuscripts.
1964
3,000 visiting vessels tie up at the Museum during the summer. Seamen’s Inne opens. Benny Goodman Orchestra performs at the Museum.
1970
The Museum purchases George Greenman House from Mrs. Eleanor Walker, great-granddaughter of George Greenman. The Museum starts building a shipyard with a liftdock as a memorial to trustee Henry B. duPont; it’s built almost entirely by Museum staff between 1970 and 1974 in preparation to restore the Morgan (pic. bottom right). Thomas Oyster House arrives by barge from New Haven, CT. John Gardner offers boatbuilding classes for the first time (pic. below).
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M Y S T I C S E A P O R T M U S E U M AT 9 0
1984
1996
1985
1997
The Museum purchases the Rosenfeld Collection of maritime photography.
1976
The Maritime Gallery opens.
Challenge of Independence exhibit opens in the Stillman Building. First Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous is held at the Museum. Record high attendance 577,978.
Museum officially called Mystic Seaport – The Museum of America and the Sea.
The Museum serves as a movie set for Steven Spielberg’s Amistad; pic. shows Director R. Carr (l.) and S. Spielberg (r.).
1977
Figurehead exhibit opens in Wendell Building. Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program for undergraduate students begins.
1978
Curator since 1970, J. Revell Carr becomes Museum Director. Lantern Light Tours are held for the first time. Membership 16,645.
1986
After a 25-year break, volunteers start to work on the Mystic River Scale Model (pic. above at a later date, 2010).
The Museum’s south entrance. The Sanger Visitor Reception Center is under construction in the background.
Tugboat Kingston II (b. 1937) is presented to the Museum by Electric Boat in Groton, CT. Official name change to Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. The Museum celebrates 50 years. Volunteers give 24,274 hours.
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1998
1987
1979
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988 1989
1990
The Museum begins a program renting out wooden craft to sail, row, and paddle from the Boathouse. The William C. Noyes Volunteer of the Year Award is presented for the first time.
2000
Museum Director and President Revell Carr retires; Jimmy English becomes interim director and president. Freedom Schooner Amistad (pic. below) is launched in the Museum’s Shipyard with 10,000 people present. Brilliant makes her first transatlantic crossing since 1933, winning BostonHalifax & Halifax-England sail-training races.
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1992
The Sabino is designated a National Historic Landmark.
1993
The L.A. Dunton is designated a National Historic Landmark.
1980
Roleplayer Program begins. The first Sea Music Festival (then called Chantey Weekend) is held; here with chanteyman Stan Hugill (above), arm raised.
2001
Douglas H. Teeson becomes new Museum President and Director.
2004
After restoration, Annie (pic. below) is relaunched. Museum staff sails her the following year. Eastern-rig dragger Roann (b. 1947) is hauled out to undergo restoration.
1983
George Moffett becomes the third captain of Brilliant. Moffett (m.) with former captains Biff Bowker (l.; Capt. 1962-1983) and Adrian Lane (r.; Capt. 1953-1961).
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FALL / WINTER 2019
1994
The Emma C. Berry is designated a National Historic Landmark.
1996
1997
1998
2005
The Museum receives live oak trees from areas hit by Hurricane Katrina to use in the upcoming restoration work on the Morgan.
2006
Olin J. Stephens II becomes the first recipient of the Museum’s America and the Sea Award.
2013
The Morgan is launched in the Shipyard after five years of restoration.
The Museum gets a new logo and adds “Museum” to its name; it is again called Mystic Seaport Museum. In spring, two new popular exhibits open: The Vikings Begin in the Thompson Building and The Vinland Map Saga in the R.J. Schaefer Building. In fall, the exhibit Death in the Ice opens in the Thompson Building. Attendance 257,447. Membership 12,423. 625 volunteers work 55,347 hours.
2007
2014
The doors open for the new Carlton Marine Science Center. The Museum becomes the location for the annual WoodenBoat Show (pic. below).
1999
2000
2018
2001 2002
2003
2004
2005
The Morgan goes on her 38th Voyage, with Capt. Kip Files at the helm. Her voyage lasts for 81 days. 64,297 people visit her during her six port-stops.
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 2017 2018 2019
2020
2008
The Morgan is hauled out from the Mystic River to undergo restoration. The following year, the Museum decides to make her seaworthy for her 38th Voyage.
2009
Stephen C. White becomes President and Director of Mystic Seaport, following the retirement of Douglas H. Teeson. Planetarium is renamed Treworgy Planetarium after its director, Don Treworgy (well-recognized in his red suspenders), retires after 48 years at the Museum.
2016
The Thompson Exhibition Building, named after Museum trustee Wade Thompson and located in the new McGraw Gallery Quadrangle, opens. The inaugural exhibit is called Sea Change. Plimoth Plantation’s Mayflower II (b. 1957) arrives at the Shipyard to undergo a restoration for 2020, the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in 1620.
2017
After an extensive two-year restoration, Sabino is launched into the Mystic River.
2012
For the first time, the Museum hosts a Naturalization Ceremony for 75 people from 33 countries.
2019
New exhibits open: Streamlined in the Thompson Building and Mary Mattingly’s Open Ocean in R.J. Schaefer Building. Mayflower II is launched. The Museum is getting ready to open a J.M.W. Turner exhibit from Tate, London, in the Thompson Building in October. The Timeline was compiled by Göran R Buckhorn, editor of Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine. The photographs are from the Museum’s photography archives.
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17
SEA LEVEL RISE
man business enterprises
BY DAN MCFADDEN
in the 1800s and later by the
The evening did not go as
Museum. This accelerated in
planned. As staff prepared for
the 1950s as the concept of
the Lantern Light Tour perfor-
the village was developed. One
mance one day last Decem-
consequence of building on
ber, water started to pool
so-called reclaimed land is
in front of the Sanger Visitor
that rising water in the river
Reception Center. This would
percolates up from below. Add
happen periodically over the course of a year, but in this instance, driven by a full moon and high tide, the water level kept rising until the entire roadway and part of the Village Green were inundated, making it impassable for the hundreds of people who would
some rain to the mix and there
HIGH WATER: THE MUSEUM FACES A FUTURE OF SEA LEVEL RISE
need to cross it during their tour. The evening’s perfor-
does that look like?
but I don’t think it dawned on
Recognizing that the larg-
us just how much a threat this
est threat to the Museum to-
will be over time.”
day may not be financial, but
That flood was not the only
environmental, three working
one that year. A month later,
groups were formed to drill
the Cruising Club of America
down into the issue. The first,
Dock on the north end of cam-
the Coastal Resilience Ad-
pus was underwater. Chris
has risen nearly a foot since 1980. The number of tides 5
aptation Committee, examTop: An example of the scale of flooding near the south entrance from last winter. Above: An aerial view of the Museum circa 1950. At center right one can see the filled-in areas where the village and green are beginning to take shape. (MSM 1976.3.37)
ines the science and policy of
ing forecasts compiled by the
um faces today are the re-
Connecticut Institute for Re-
sult of some faulty assump-
tions are addressing it. The
silience & Climate Adaptation.
tions made in the past. All
Selecting a middle-of-the-road
of Mystic Seaport Museum,
model, the prediction was for
with the exception of the
60 flood events in 2050.
Greenman houses on Rte.
sea level rise and how other communities and institusecond, Campus Infrastructure, is doing an inventory of all the physical assets of the Museum and assessing the value, risk, and possible
“That would be more than
27, lies in a flood zone. The
(the threshold for flooding on
one a week, or in some cases
entire center of campus –
the grounds) was one in the
perhaps two or three in one
the village, the green, and
year 1980, two in 1990, and
week, and that is just not
the road to the Shipyard –
nine in 2018. Gasiorek then
workable for an outdoor his-
were marshland that was
of the center campus, which
projected the frequency of
tory museum,” says Gasiorek.
filled in as space was need-
will be most impacted by sea
flood events out to 2050 us-
The problems the Muse-
ed, originally by the Green-
level rise.
feet above mean low water
18
present,” says White.
And if the last option, what
more of an impact on campus,
highest tides in any given year
“We can no longer assume the future will resemble the
rise and the consequences?
more water and it was having
concern. The average of the 30
wants to reclaim its marshes.
Or does it embrace sea level
knew that there was more and
he discovered was cause for
it seems as if the Mystic River
it build to keep the water out?
President Steve White. “We
data back to 1980 and what
the accompanying flooding,
move to higher ground? Does
up call for us,” says Museum
Programs, researched tide
Today, with sea level rise and
Does the Museum retreat and
“That event was a wake-
Watercraft Preservation and
and it simply creates a pond.
So what can be done?
mance was canceled.
Gasiorek, vice president of
is no way for the water to drain
| Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine |
FALL / WINTER 2019
options for each. The third working group, Interactive Public Programs, is looking at the highest and best use
Construction of the bulkhead near Middle Wharf in 1949. The building at right is now the Children’s Museum. (MSM 1949.4.7.P)
“The threat of sea level change requires us to re-examine our assumptions and go through the same process the Museum leadership did when they decided an historic village was the best visitor experience, the best use for that space,” says Susan Funk, executive
So what can be done? Does the Museum retreat and move to higher ground? Does it build to keep the water out? Or does it embrace
building elaborate sea walls, or moving it to a higher location
of that city’s historic prop-
that make them special. As
erties, founded Keeping His-
a result, architects, planners
tory Above Water in 2016 (see
and engineers are developing new techniques to enable historic structures to cope with flooding. Water could be
sea level rise and the
are shaping the vision of a 21st-
consequences? And if
building; basements could be
grounded in the principles of
the last option, what
to be pumped out later; and
public history, we are exploring
does that look like?
what that would look like. How
allowed to pass through the used as temporary cisterns some are experimenting with flotation systems to enable an
do we do that and keep our
entire structure to rise and fall
historic buildings and not lose
with the flood.
them to water?” Historic
structures
for the preservation of many
– may ruin the very qualities
vice president and COO. “As we century experiential museum,
the organization responsible
The Museum is not alone can
in this dilemma. Many historic
present a unique challenge as
sites and communities face
some of the usual tactics – el-
the same challenge. The New-
evating the structure on stilts,
port Restoration Foundation,
historyabovewater.org). The organization sponsors conferences on the issue and is encouraging the historic preservation community to share information and call attention to the looming crisis. The only certain course of action for the Museum at this stage is that inaction is out of the question. “We have no choice but to confront this issue. Sea level rise is happening, and, in fact, it may be happening faster than we think,” says White. Dan McFadden is director of Communications.
FALL / WINTER 2019
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19
ON BOOKS
Conversations with Turner: The Watercolors EDITED BY NICHOLAS BELL
Nicholas Bell, senior vice president for Curatorial Affairs at Mystic Seaport Museum, has edited the book Conversations with Turner: The Watercolors, which will accompany the Museum’s upcoming exhibition J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate, which opens on October 5 in the Collins Gallery in the Thompson Exhibition Building. The book’s format is inspired by this introduction of Britain’s seminal visual artist to new audiences. Following an introductory essay on J.M.W. 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 Pre-order your copy online or by calling the Museum’s Bookstore at 860.572.5386 prior to September 23 to get a copy signed by Nicholas Bell.
medium central to Turner’s development as an artist. Ranging from precocious landscapes of the 1790s to the impatient yet critical color experiments of the 1840s, more than 100 watercolors illustrate the genius that led Turner to tower over Western painting in his day, and, arguably, in ours. For the volume, 16 scholars and artists participate in conversations about Turner’s painting and its continued relevance today, including David Blayney Brown; filmmaker John Akomfrah, CBE; Olivier Meslay of The Clark Art Institute; Timothy Barringer of Yale University; Susan Grace Galassi of The Frick Collection; Alexander Nemerov of Stanford University; and Sam Smiles of the University of Exeter. The book is copublished by Mystic Seaport Museum and Skira Editore.
3 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ART LOFT
This summer, Mystic Seaport Museum
Seaport Museum, many of which were
opened the Art Loft on the second floor of
taken by the Museum’s photographers.
the Museum’s Gift Shop. Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine sat down with Monique Foster, director of The Maritime Galley, to ask her a few questions about this new retail space. Q: What is the Art Loft? A: In this space, located between the Maritime Bookstore and the Maritime Gallery, visitors can enjoy a wide array of options that have not previously been available in this retail building. Visitors can browse and purchase Fine Art prints, decorative Ships Plans, and photographs of various scenes and boats at Mystic
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Q: Will the customers find photographs from the Museum’s Rosenfeld Collection at the Art Loft? A: Yes, visitors can custom order photographs from the esteemed Rosenfeld Collection, as well as plans of all types of craft from the Museum’s collection of Ships Plans. Q: When is the Art Loft open? A: The Art Loft is open daily between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Questions? Contact us at phone 860.572.5302 #4709 or by email at artloft@mysticseaport.org. And remember, members get a discount.
ON BOOKS
Ahab’s Rolling Sea
The Listeners: U-boat Hunters During the Great War
BY RICHARD J. KING
In Ahab’s Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick, scholar Richard J. King, former teacher at The Maritime Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport Museum, writes about his
BY ROY R. MANSTAN
journey through the natural history of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.
In The Listeners: U-boat
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Dillard states that Moby-
Hunters During the Great War,
Dick is the “best book ever written about nature,” and nearly
Roy R. Manstan documents the
the entirety of the story is set on the water, with barely a hint of
struggle the Allies first had with
land. And Melville knew what he was writing about. He had spent
the superior German U-boats during the First World War. However, working tirelessly, civilian scientists and engineers as well as naval personnel of the Naval Experimental Station in New London, Connecticut, played an important role by constructing a system to detect objects under water, the listening devices that would lead to SONAR. This new innovation made it possible for the Allies to track, hunt, and destroy U-boats and get the upper hand in the naval battle against the German Imperial fleet. Roy Manstan, a retired naval engineer and author of Cold Warriors: The Navy’s Engineering and Diving Support Unit (2014) and co-author of Turtle: David Bushnell’s Revolutionary Vessel (2010; together with Frederic Frese), has done a tremendous job researching memoirs, journals, and other first-hand accounts and documents from the time.
a few years at sea before his masterpiece novel was published in 1851. King examines what Melville knew from his own experiences and the sources available to a reader in the mid-1800s when it came to white whales, whale intelligence, giant squids, barnacles, albatross, and sharks. The author compares Captain Ahab’s and the novel’s narrator Ishmael’s worldviews to how we see the ocean today: an expanse still immortal and sublime, but also in crisis. King argues
Richard King will do a book signing at the Museum’s Bookstore on December 7 at 2-5 p.m.
that Ishmael reveals his own tendencies toward what we would now call environmentalism. Featuring a treasure chest of illustrations and an array of interviews with contemporary scientists, fishers, and whale watch operators, Ahab’s Rolling Sea offers new understanding not only into Moby-Dick and its author, but also into our evolving relationship with the sea.
Manstan has produced a well-written and fascinating account of a little-known chapter of the First World War. The Listeners is generously illustrated and many of the photographs come from a family archive. The book has detailed notes, a bibliography, and an index — a book for the military-interested lay man and historians alike.
RE-READ
The Old Man and the Sea BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY
On July 21, Ernest Hemingway fans celebrated the 120th an-
Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates BY ERIC JAY DOLIN
In his brief but informative history of piracy in America’s waters, Eric Jay Dolin kills some pirate myths. Pirates did not bury their treasures on a remote island; instead, they spent it right away. Famous Captain William Kidd did not bury a treasure on Gardiner’s Island, New York. And, no, the pirates did not force a captured ship’s captain and his crew to walk the plank. However, there are enough good and true stories to keep readers interested throughout Black Flags, Blue Waters. To order these or other books, please call 860.572.5386 or email msmbookstore@eventnetwork.com. Don’t forget your 10 percent members’ discount! Remember, we ship anywhere. Go to www.mysticseaport.org for upcoming book signings.
niversary of the author’s birth. One of his most famous works is the short novel The Old Man and the Sea, written in 1951 and published the year after. The novel was an immediate success and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953. When Hemingway was presented with the Nobel Prize for Literature the following year, the Nobel Committee especially cited The Old Man and the Sea as a contributing factor in awarding the prize to the author. The novel tells the story of the aging Cuban fisherman Santiago, who for 84 days has not caught a fish. His apprentice, the young boy Manolin, has been forbidden by his father to fish with Santiago and is told to go out with fishermen with better luck. Manolin visits Santiago each night, preparing food, organizing the old fisherman’s gear, and talking about baseball. On the 85th day, Santiago goes out alone in his boat to head far off into the Gulf Stream in the Straits of Florida, north of Cuba, to try his luck. Santiago catches a giant marlin and after being pulled by the great fish for two days and nights, he manages to kill it and ties it to the boat’s side. But the fisherman’s struggle is not over. Attracted by the marlin’s blood, sharks attack the dead fish. Although Santiago kills several of the sharks, there are too many, so he has to give in. Soon the only thing left of the marlin is its skeleton. Before dawn the next day, Santiago is back home, falling deep asleep in his shack. There, Manolin finds him and cries of relief that he is alive. In the meantime, on the shore, the other fishermen admire the 18-foot skeleton and feel sorry for the old fisherman who lost his great catch. Many literary critics have pointed out the symbols that are in The Old Man and the Sea and its religious overtones. The novel revived Hemingway’s literary reputation and made him a world celebrity. It is truly an American classic well worth a re-read. FALL / WINTER 2019
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FROM THE COLLECTIONS
WHALINGHISTORY.ORG EXPANDS BY PAUL O ’ P E CK O With the help from an Arthur Vining Davis Foundation grant over a decade ago, Mystic Seaport Museum developed a website called the National Maritime Digital Library. It consists of a number of elements including databases, digitized material, and a portal to a new maritime studies journal called CORIOLIS. The core of the site, though, was the American Offshore Whaling Voyage database. Judith Lund, former curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, had created a database of more than 16,000 whaling voyages and teamed up with Mystic Seaport Museum to put it online in a format that would be useful to researchers around the world. Fast forward to 2017 and the AOWV database took on a life of its own to become Whalinghistory.org, an extraordinary collection of information and digital objects that has far surpassed our original dreams for the material. Over the last two years, Mystic Seaport Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum cobbled together funding to expand the website with the guidance of web developer David Caldwell. Dave’s ability to organize the data and digital material that we have compiled over the years has been a Herculean effort that is paying dividends by way of all the scholarly work done by users tapping into the site. In addition to the original database, other participants from around the world have begun sharing their data with us. This includes databases for the British Southern Whale Fishery (1775-1859), the British North American Whale Fishery (1779-1845), and the French Whaling Voyages (1784-1866). Add a collection of new crew lists, links to hundreds of scanned
Page showing a link from the record for the Charles W. Morgan to an online logbook at the Museum.
Judith Lund, former curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, had created a database of more than 16,000 whaling voyages and teamed up with Mystic Seaport Museum to put it online in a format that would be useful to researchers around the world. pollination of whaleships and masters be-
Maury, Townsend, and Census of Marine
tween the different databases, especially
Life logbook projects spanning 150 years
among the Nantucketers who occasionally
of data collecting. One of the most gratify-
registered their voyages in both America and France, for example. Other additions to the site include a new EXPLORE menu that offers new ways to dig into the Whaling History databases and features aspects of the data that might not otherwise be discovered. One of the first EXPLORE topics is “Women Who Went Whaling,” an opportunity to find voyages on which the master’s wife sailed. The EXPLORE menu also assists users in finding all 1,300 voyage maps that are included on the site. These maps display voyage location information from the American Whaling Logbook database that combines logbook data from the
ing elements of the site for researchers is the ability to download any or all data to be manipulated for their own purposes, rather than having to construct tables from data that they would otherwise need to type out or cut and paste. Goals yet to be achieved include linking art and objects to individual voyages and bringing in additional institutions to add their records and logbooks to the collection. Fundraising for this will start soon, so feel free to participate! Paul O’Pecko is vice president of Research Collections and director of the G.W. Blunt White Library.
logbooks, and a new search function that links all the material together, and you have a virtual smorgasbord of whaling history at your fingertips. Quite interesting is the cross -
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To get more information about the Collections Research Center of Mystic Seaport Museum and online resources, please visit research.mysticseaport.org
EVENTS AT MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM MYSTIC RIVER OYSTER FESTIVAL September 28
AMERICA AND THE SEA AWARD GALA October 30
ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MARINE ART SHOW September 28-December 31 The Maritime Gallery
HALLOWEEN: TRICK-OR-TREAT October 31
MEMBER TRIP: INTREPID SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM October 2 MEMBER PREVIEW: J.M.W. TURNER: WATERCOLORS FROM TATE October 5 NEW EXHIBITION: J.M.W. TURNER: WATERCOLORS FROM TATE October 5-February 23, 2020 Collins Gallery NAUTICAL NIGHTMARES October 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 MEMBER TOUR: COLLECTIONS VAULT TOUR WITH SENIOR CURATOR FRED CALABRETTA October 12 CHOWDER DAYS October 12-14 EDUCATORS’ APPRECIATION DAY October 19 PILOTS WEEKEND October 19-20
SEAPORT AFTER SEVEN: TURNER November 1 MEMBER EVENING: SPOTLIGHT ON TURNER November 15 MINIATURES BY MARITIME MASTERS November 16-January 31, 2020 The Maritime Gallery FIELD DAYS November 29-30 MEMBERS’ DOUBLE DISCOUNT DAYS November 29-December 8 LANTERN LIGHT TOURS November 29, 30, December 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 (23, snow day) COMMUNITY CAROL SING December 22 HOLIDAY MAGIC December 26-31 CHANTEY BLAST & PUB SING January 4, 2020
2019-2020 ADVENTURE SERIES 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m The River Room, Latitude 41° or StoneRidge Senior Living Community StoneRidge is the exclusive community sponsor of the 2019-2020 Adventure Series. Thursdays, November 21, December 19, January 16, 2020, February 20, 2020, March 19, 2020, April 16, 2020
ART GALLERY SPRING SHOW Opens April 25, 2020 The Maritime Gallery PILOTS WEEKEND May 9-10, 2020 MEMBERS’ ANNUAL MEETING & RECOGNITION DAY May 30, 2020 For additional programs, classes, and courses, but also for changes or cancellations, please visit the Museum’s website: www.mysticseaport.org
ICE FESTIVAL February 15-17, 2020
For hours of operation during fall, winter, and spring 2020, open and closed exhibits, shopping, and dining, please check the Museum’s website: www.mysticseaport.org
PIRATE DAYS April 14-15, 2020
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