Month: August 2020

Sailor Made: Folk Art of the Sea Dives Deep into the Museum’s Collection to Explore the Rich and Surprising Creativity of the American Seafarer 

Mystic, Conn. (August 28, 2020) — When sailors went to sea in the 19th century, they faced difficult working conditions, cramped personal space onboard ship, and voyages that at times could stretch for months or even years. Sailor Made: Folk Art of the Sea, a new exhibition opening September 18 in the Museum’s C.D. Mallory Building, explores the art that emerged out of this working world, reflecting sailors’ connections to shipboard life, their thoughts about culture on shore, and the souvenirs they created to remember and share the experiences of their travels.

The second of four new exhibitions funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, Sailor Made highlights more than 200 objects from the Museum’s collection, many of which have long been hidden from public view. Each artifact has its own story, and through the work of exhibition curator Mirelle Luecke, Ph.D., much new information has been uncovered about the objects in the show.

“When stuck in the difficult, dangerous, and sometimes monotonous environment of the ship, sailors used art to express themselves. The designs they inscribed on scrimshaw, the types of household items they made, and the ways they used different materials were all intentions, and tell us something about the sailors themselves, their experiences, and the world they lived in,” said Luecke.

These stories show how creating art enabled sailors to differentiate their labor and leisure time in the otherwise all-consuming work environment of the ship.

To do this sailors turned to art, carving scrimshaw, drawing in journals, sewing intricate embroidery, and creating intricate knot-work, to name but a few of the media on display. Highlights include:

• Personal items that spoke to sailor-makers professional life and skills, such as knives, needle cases, clothing, and elaborate macramé bags
• Household items such as bowls and boxes fashioned out of exotic materials
• A child’s hammock decorated with scenes from the circumnavigation voyage of the USS Columbia, made by one shipmate for another
• Examples of tattoo flash (sample drawings from which sailors could choose their tattoo)
• Numerous pieces of scrimshaw, including engraved teeth, jagging wheels, bodkins, and a knitting swift
• A coatrack constructed of narwhal tusks
• A cribbage board in the shape of the nuclear submarine USS Hartford

As self-taught artists, sailors engaged with the working world of the ship, imagined their ideal lives on shore, and created objects to commemorate their experiences at sea. This exhibition is a view into the world of the 19th-century sailor, with a few modern examples to show how those impulses and activities continue today in some naval and merchant mariners.

The exhibition is made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support the curation and development of four new collections installations and related programming at Mystic Seaport Museum. These projects will provide new perspectives on the art and ensure the continued preservation and refinement of the collections while also promoting public access.

Access to Sailor Made is included in the Museum’s general admission.

Media Contact

Dan McFadden
Director of Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317
dan.mcfadden@mysticseaport.org/

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit www.mysticseaport.org/ and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mystic, Conn. (August 26, 2020) — Mystic Seaport Museum will present its 2020 America and the Sea Award to Tom Whidden, one of the most applauded sailors of all time, member of both the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and the National Sailing Hall of Fame, and president and CEO of North Technology Group, parent company of North Sails. The prestigious award recognizes those individuals and organizations whose extraordinary achievements in the world of maritime exploration, competition, scholarship, and design best exemplify the American character.

In announcing the honor, Mystic Seaport Museum President Steve White said, “Tom is a perfect fit for this award. Not only does he have a distinguished record as a competitive sailor, but he has also served as an important ambassador for the sport and the maritime community. For young sailors across the country and beyond, he has been a positive role model and mentor.”

Whidden will be honored for his remarkable accomplishments in competitive sailing and his leadership in the design and manufacturing of technologically advanced sails at North Sails.

“I have spent my life racing sailboats and making products that make those boats perform their best. For me to be recognized by the most prominent maritime museum in the United States, for doing what I love most, is a dream come true,” said Whidden.

Whidden’s career soared in 1979 when he joined Dennis Conner for what would become a total of eight America’s Cup campaigns, racing as tactician in five series races and winning three times: 1980, 1987 (regaining the cup after Australia’s 1983 victory), and 1988. He has won the Newport-Bermuda Race five times, and had repeated wins on the European racing circuit.

Following his racing success, Whidden joined North Sails in 1987, building it into the largest sailmaking company in the world, and later becoming CEO and co-owner of North Technology Group. He led North Sails and North Technology Group through decades of evolution from manufacturing paneled sails in a vast network of sail lofts to the current centrally managed, technologically driven, manufacturing system.

In 2004, Whidden was elected to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame “for his brilliance as a tactical advisor, his soundness as a crew organizer, and his mastery of winning in difficult boats under the most demanding conditions.” Most recently, he was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2017.

Mystic Seaport Museum will recognize Whidden’s exceptional career on and off the water by awarding him the America and the Sea Award on Friday, October 23, 2020. The award presentation, special toast to the honoree, auction, paddle raise, and special celebrity appearances will be livestreamed from the Museum beginning at 6:15 p.m. EST.

This affair is the premier fundraising event for Mystic Seaport Museum. Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award include American businesswoman and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt; America’s Cup sailor and trailblazer Dawn Riley; philanthropist and environmentalist David Rockefeller Jr.; celebrated sailors and co-founders of J/Boats, Rod and Bob Johnstone; New York Times best-selling and National Book Award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick; oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle; former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman; WoodenBoat Publications founder Jon Wilson; yachtsman and author Gary Jobson; maritime industrialist Charles A. Robertson; among other maritime greats.

For invitations, please email advancement@mysticseaport.org/

Media Contact

Dan McFadden
Director of Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317
dan.mcfadden@mysticseaport.org/

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit www.mysticseaport.org/ and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mystic, Conn. (August 20, 2020) — In association with its new exhibition, A Way with Wood: Celebrating Craft, Mystic Seaport Museum will host Woodcraft Weekend August 29-30. Independent craftspeople and woodworkers will be spread throughout the Museum grounds displaying their projects and products, and providing demonstrations for visitors.

Participating artisans are:

• Woodworkers Guild of Rhode Island – Demonstrating a range of skills from sharpening and squaring a board to relief carving and carving in the round
• Tom Lauria – Scratch-built fine scale ship and boat models
• Paul Schmitt – Kit and scratch built ship models
• Alex Bellinger – Ships in bottles, completed and in progress
• Brian Cooper – Demonstrating the creation of a Greenland kayak paddle using all hand tools
• Chris Sanders – Tool-sharpening demonstrations
• Katherine Park – One-of-a-kind furniture
• Laurent Robert – Intricate, decorative wood carving using traditional methods
• David Douyard – Handmade chairs

Centerbrook Architects & Planners industrial designer and model maker, Patrick McCauley, will be working in the A Way with Wood exhibition, where he will fabricate a chair from the Centerbrook Chairshop. The Chairshop is an in-house program where staff members design and build a chair incorporating diverse materials, construction techniques, and finishes. Chairs from previous classes will be on display, as well as imagery that celebrates the history of the program and its participants.

At 11 a.m., Saturday, the principal designer of the Museum’s Thompson Exhibition Building, Chad Floyd, FAIA, of Centerbrook Architects & Planners, will give a presentation to discuss why and how wood was used in the building’s design. The talk will be in the Masin Room of the Thompson Building. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

All Woodcraft Weekend events and activities are free and included with Museum admission.

Media Contact

Dan McFadden
Director of Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317
dan.mcfadden@mysticseaport.org/

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit www.mysticseaport.org/ and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.