MARINE ART
join us for a tour ofthis summer's marine art exhibits from the West Coast, to the Great Lakes, and on to Virginia. Some museums focused on their own collections, while others brought together historic or contemporary art from distant places and times. We are merely giving you a taste of some of the great exhibitions marine art buffs enjoyed through the summer. Two ofthe exhibits can still be seen (Michigan Maritime Museum and The Mariners ' Museum), while the others are already history.
Mariners and Mandarins: Seafari119 and the Arts of the China Trade
T
he Kelton Foundation provided a rare look at some of the superb paintings and artifacts in its collection this summ er. T he exhibit b rought visitors to rwo San Diego museums-the Maritime Museum 's tall ship Star of India and the downtown gallery of the Museum of Co ntemporary Art. Arti fac ts at the maritime museum foc used o n the histo ri cal and maritime aspects of the West's merchant trade with C hin a, from the 16th century to the era of the tea clippers, feat uring trade cargoes, ship portraits, charts and navigational instruments. M eanwhile, the art museum featured the mo re delicate cultural and artisti c as pects of th e exchange, including decorative and fine arts designed specifically for th e Ame rican and European markets-paintings, furniture, procelain, silver, textiles, games and ivory carvings . ln additi o n to its major co llections in maritim e art, nautical instruments, Australian Aboriginal art, C una Indian culture, and South and Central Pacific cultures, the Kelton Fo undation funds and parti cipates in maritim e-related scientific expeditions with archaeo logists, entomologists, o rnithologists and marine bio logists.
An ornately carved dragon urn, c. 1800 (Š2003 The Kelton Foundation)
THE KELTON FO UNDATION, 27 16 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 3006, Santa Monica CA 90405; MARITIME MUSEUM OF SA DIEGO, 1492 North H arbor Drive, San Diego CA 9210 1; M USEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 1001 Kettner Blvd., San Diego CA 92 101
Portrait of the American Ship Vancouver Entering Hong Kong. This 1851 painting shows the Vancouver
crossing skysails above royals. This is an early example ofa packet-ship-type hull with the experimental taller rigs that would soon power the great clipper ships made famous in the China tea trade. (Š2003 The Kelton Foundation) SEA HISTORY 105, AUTUMN 2003
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