MARINE ART NEWS "A Floating Gallery": New Book and Exhibit on RMS Queen Mary Art When the Queen Mary sa iled on her maiden voyage in 1936, she was the ultimate ocean liner- the largest, fas test, and grandest. Lav ishl y adorned by a team of more than thirty arti sts and artisans, she was heralded as hav ing more
prov ided accent and an imation. T he ex hibition mo un ted by Hi ppodrome last year is now permanentl y installed in the new Promenade Gallery on the Queen Mary moored in Long Beach. The Art of the RMS Queen Mary is avail able fro m Hippodrome Gall eri es at 628 Alami tos A venue, Long Beach CA 90802 fo r $35 pl us $4 s&h.
The Compleat Model Competition
"Dressed Overall at the Quay," oil on canvas, by Edward Wadsworth.
art aboard than many museums possessed. Onl y recently has thi s art been systematicall y catalogued, a wo rk undertaken by Hippodro me Ga ll eri es in Long Beach that has res ul ted in an ex hi bition and a beautifull y prod uced catalogue, Th e Art of the Queen Ma ry. A key concept in the constructi on of the Queen Mary was that she be "A ll Britain 's Job." Thi s mandate was reflected in the selecti on of art, and a wide and di spara te group of arti sts was commi ss ioned. The result: a ship laden with art- bron ze and wood scu lptures, oi ls, waterco lors -in themes mytho logica l, animal, fl oral, maritime and more. Hippodrome's 63- page catalog celebrates thi s rich boun ty with 47 color and 54 bl ack-and-w hite illustrations of the indi vidual pi eces and the settings in which they were placed. T he book includes a biography of eac h arti st and an introduction by Doug las M. Hinkey , who does an admi ra ble job of pl ac ing the decorati ve style of the Queen Ma ry. While her art showed little of the fl air of the Moderne on the Continent, it had one great qu ality, says Hinkey: it blended beautifull y aga inst a backdrop of fine and rare woods and striking ly des igned carpets, upho lsteries , and curtains th at 28
Imag ine rowi ng skiffs, ocean li ne rs, sleek des troyers , tugs and topsa i I schooners, a Viki'ng longshi p and a Cataloni an nao and many more fi ne ly-crafted vesse ls all in one place at one time, and all in excellent condition ! " Not poss ible! " yo u say. B ut adjust yo ur ex pectati ons to the right scale, say 1/4 scale or less, and anything is poss ible-it happens regularl y at T he Mariners' Museum "Scale Ship Mode l Competition & Exhibition." The event, las t he ld in 199 1, is the nati on 's premier ship mode l competi tion and thi s year 's, the fo urth , is attrac ting a record number of entra nts. Organi zation of the competiti on is the work of T he Mariners' senior curator Alan Frazer, and the j urists are: Dana Wegner, c urator of ship mode ls fo r the Sea Systems Comm and, US Navy; Rob Na pier, a profess io na l mode lm ake r and editor of Nautical Research Journal; and W illi am D. W ilkinson, di rec tor emeritus of The Mariners ' M useum and a shipmode ler himself. Among the honors g iven are spec ial awards fro m the US
Roh Napier and John Tilley j udging a model in the 199 1 Ship Model Competition.
Coast G uard, the US Navy, Newport News Ship buil ding, the Steamship Hi stori ca l Soc iety of America, and the Na utica l Research G uild. Once the judges have their say, the wi nning entri es and a
numbe r of other exemplary mode ls wi ll be on di s pl ay fro m 17 June to 28 October. (The Mariners' M useum , 100 M useum Dri ve, Newport News VA 23606; 804 596-2222)
Art Notes " It' s a ra re situation that yo u have more buyers than paintings," says Richard Kirste n, proprietor of Kirsten Ga ll ery in Seattle. That's Kirsten's happy pro bl em as he m a kes his gall ery ready fo r the 23 March to 25 April Mark Mye rs show. "To the North west: Earl y Ex ploration and Trade" is the second in Myers' threepart seri es foc using on the North west. T he first show of the series was held in 1992, and a nu mber of the paintings were pub lished in Sea History 6 1, Spring
" eva crosses Sitka Sound , Sept. 18, 1804 ," by Mark Myers, watercolor.
1992. Kirsten spec ul ates that if Myers didn ' t put so much research into the paintings, he wo uld have enough fo r everybody, bu t concedes that "far more than half of prospecti ve buyers are especially interested in the hi storica l as pects of Mye rs' paintings ." Kirsten will fo llow the Mye rs show with the bi-annual "Northwest Marine Ex hibiti o n," 25 June-3 September, the fo remost showcase fo r No rthwest marine painters. (Ki rs ten Gallery, Inc ., 5320 Roosevelt Way, NE, Seattle, Washington 98 105) Russell Jini shi an, fo rmer director of Mystic M aritime Ga llery, has set up a new shop. Jini shi an las t year teamed up with the G reenwich Works hop Publi shing Company of G reenwich, Connecti c ut, to start Bi g Horn Ga ll ery. While the gall ery spec iali zes in mo re than just marine art-w ildlife, Ameri cana and Western s ubjects are shown- Jini shian is still bi g on boats and continues to SEA HI STORY 73, SPRING 1995