Month: January 2015

The photograph of the elegant diners (on the right) is from the Grace Line passenger steamer Santa Paula in the 1930s. In the background is a large 14 by 8 foot painting of the ship W.R. Grace by Charles Robert Patterson which eventually came to Mystic Seaport in 1961 and has hung in the Aloha Meeting House (the Greenmanville Church) since that time.

From its time aboard the ship and the intervening five decades in the church, the painting has built up quite a layer of grime. Two conservators from the Williamstown Art Conservation Center (in the sidebar photo gallery) spent three days at the Museum last fall putting a little sparkle back into the clipper ship by stripping off some of the layers of dirt. The project was inspired by Bob Webb, a former curator at the Kendall Whaling Museum and the Maine Maritime Museum and a performer well-known in sea music circles. Webb passed away last year and one of his wishes was to see the painting conserved since, in addition to his other passions, he was also a writer and one of his books was a biography of Charles Robert Patterson, the artist. To help fulfill his wish, Webb’s widow, Helen, has been raising funds to help pay for the conservation work.

The work is a depiction of the W.R. Grace leaving the coast of California in the 1880s. There were four “SANTA” ships built in the 1930s and each one had on board a painting done by Charles Robert Patterson. There is one in the Maine Maritime Museum that went to them from the W.R. Grace offices in Boca Raton in 1999. It is also a painting of the W.R. Grace and is entitled “Report Me All Well,” and that one was in the Santa Elena. When the Santa Elena was turned into a troop ship, the painting came out and was later trimmed down and repainted to fit in the W.R. Grace company offices. The other two SANTA ships, the Santa Rosa and the Santa Lucia, carried portraits of the ship M.P. Grace. The whereabouts of those two paintings is unknown. The one in the Museum’s Greenmanville Church is considered the masterpiece of the four and the only one kept in its original round-topped, half-moon configuration.

Hallie Payne, supervisor of Community Sailing and Overnight Programs at Mystic Seaport, has been honored with the Excellence in Instruction Award from US Sailing. The award recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to further sailing education and public access to the water.

During her 10 years as an instructor and director, Payne has been involved with all aspects of the Museum’s Joseph Conrad Summer Sailing Camp and Community Sailing program, She has played a prominent role in the sailing education of more than 6,000 students. While her current position has significant administrative requirements, she still manages to stay extremely involved in the hands-on aspect of sailing instruction, providing guidance to both new and veteran instructors. Additionally, she consistently demonstrates strong leadership to Conrad campers and Community Sailing students.

As a former Conrad camper, Payne has been able to take her experiences and help provide the best opportunities for those in her care. Her passion and dedication, combined with her superior technical sailing skills and sense of humor, make her a wonderful teacher and mentor. Mystic Seaport congratulates Ms. Payne on this well-deserved honor!

Mystic Seaport announces a gift of $1 million from the Thompson Family Foundation honoring the late Wade Thompson, a Museum trustee for 27 years. This gift directed to a new 14,000 square-foot exhibition building caps an earlier gift from the Thompsons, bringing their total gifts towards this building to $6.6 million. The new building will be named for the Thompson family.

“From early on in the strategic planning process Wade Thompson was the driving force behind the concept of a new exhibition space and its importance for the future of the Museum, and his generosity and leadership have made this project possible,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White.

The gift was announced at a groundbreaking ceremony at Mystic Seaport on January 8.

The contemporary, light-filled Thompson Exhibition Building will include a state-of-the-art, 5,000 square-foot exhibit hall. This will be the largest among Mystic Seaport’s seven galleries and will provide the caliber of conditions required to curate not only exhibits from the Museum’s collection, but also permit the borrowing of outstanding art and artifacts from other museums around the world. This space will feature high ceilings and a flexible layout that can be reconfigured to accommodate objects of varying size and type, from watercraft to priceless works of fine art, and also support educational programming. The building will integrate cutting-edge technology, “Grade A” exhibit facilities, and the flexible space needed to showcase the Museum’s collection in exciting ways.

“This significant capital project is a milestone in the history of Mystic Seaport as we reposition ourselves for the 21st century. This endeavor will transform what we can offer to the public in the scale and quality of our exhibits and how visitors engage with our campus,” said Mystic Seaport Board Chairman Barclay Collins.

Situated at the northern-most edge of the Museum’s 19-acre campus and adjacent to Latitude 41° Restaurant & Tavern, the Thompson Exhibition Building will anchor the newly created Gallery Quadrangle, a region of Mystic Seaport that will be suitable for year-round visitation once complete. Designed by the Connecticut firm Centerbrook Architects and Planners, the Thompson Exhibition Building will evoke the “geometry of the sea,” drawing design cues from the interior of a wooden ship, the undulating sea, and a spiraling nautilus shell. Construction will be managed by A/Z Corporation of North Stonington, CT.  Other Connecticut firms involved in the project are Stadia Engineering, Kohler Ronan, and Kent + Frost Landscape Architects of Mystic.

The Gallery Quadrangle transformation is the result of a decade of strategic and master planning, and will provide:

• An iconic point of arrival at the north end of the campus
• All-weather and all-season operational capabilities
• Sweeping, unobstructed views of the Mystic River
• Outdoor celebration areas for both Museum and community use
• 21st-century upgrades and improved access to existing galleries around the quadrangle’s perimeter, including those in the Stillman and R. J. Schaefer buildings
• Environmentally responsible features that respond to the riverfront location, including a storm water treatment system and geothermal heating and cooling
• Increased wheeled accessibility for the north campus
• Galleries and venues suitable for schools’ year-round educational visits

To create this new all-season zone, Kent + Frost has developed a distinctive unifying plan to reconfigure the grounds. To establish a powerful physical presence, and emerge as a year-round cultural destination and educational resource, the distinctive Gallery Quadrangle meshes existing buildings and grounds with new architectural achievements to greatly enhance the visitor experience.