Exhibit Status: Past

NOW CLOSED | DEEPSEA CHALLENGER

Post date July 2, 2024

The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, piloted by James Cameron, is hoisted on board the MERMAID SAPPHIRE after he completed his test dive to 8,221 meters.

DEEPSEA CHALLENGER

EXHIBITION HAS CLOSED

DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is a submersible science platform built by explorer and filmmaker James Cameron to journey to the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in any ocean at over 6.5 miles down and located in the western Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. The Challenger Deep is named for the research ship that first discovered the point in 1875, the HMS Challenger, using miles of rope to take depth soundings. In 1960, the first crewed mission reached the bottom in a submersible called Trieste. The two passengers, Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, saw living creatures at depths where it was previously thought nothing could survive. On March 26, 2012, Cameron was the first solo pilot to reach the bottom. He then spent three hours exploring the sea floor, collecting samples, and imaging in 3-D.

To reach the Challenger Deep, Cameron needed a craft unlike any other—a “moon lander” for a place less understood, more forbidding, and perhaps less forgiving than the farthest reaches of space. So Cameron, who co-designed and co-engineered the vessel, assembled a team of what he called “dedicated, like-minded, brilliant misfits to build the sub and support the expedition.” The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is displayed sideways on the Village Green, but it operates vertically in the water. James Cameron describes it as a vertical “Kawasaki-racing-green torpedo aimed at the center of the Earth.” It is made of a high-tech foam designed to withstand the incredible water pressure at these depths. It is powered by 70 bread-loaf-size battery packs inside oil-filled plastic boxes mounted to its sides. The sub uses horizontal propellers to move back and forth and vertical propellers to move up and down. It is equipped with hydraulic arms and scientific equipment as well as bright lights, the only way to see in the pitch-black deep ocean. Heavy weights allow it to sink through the water. When ready to ascend, the weights are dropped, causing it to move rapidly to the surface.

DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is on loan from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. James Cameron generously donated the vehicle to WHOI in 2013.

NOW CLOSED | Voyage to the Deep: Underwater Adventures

Post date October 8, 2023

Voyage to the Deep – Underwater Adventures

EXHIBITION HAS CLOSED

Based on French author Jules Verne’s 1870 classic, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this exhibition brings to life the adventures of Captain Nemo, his fantastical submarine Nautilus, and the mythical world he inhabited.

At the center of this fantasy world is the giant Nautilus where visitors can climb aboard and discover the inner workings of a deep-sea vessel. Take up the controls at the helm, look through periscopes, crank the propeller, test out the bunks, and explore Captain Nemo’s Cabinet of Curiosities, full of incredible marine specimens.

The highly interactive experience explores marine habitats and creatures, diving equipment, and maritime archaeology, delivering immersive experiences for children and engaging content for adults. Visitors will encounter a variety of activities ranging from full-body activities like slides and climbing structures to simple tabletop games.

Voyage to the Deep – Underwater Adventures is an unforgettable experience that combines science education, exploration, and entertainment. It’s a unique opportunity for families, students, and anyone seeking adventure to dive into the wonders of the deep sea and celebrate the enduring legacy of Jules Verne’s literary masterpiece.

NOW CLOSED | Spineless: A Glass Menagerie of Blaschka Marine Invertebrates

Post date June 27, 2023

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ:SC:324 Lophocercus viridis, MCZ:SC:313 Stiliger ornatus, MCZ:SC:330 Syphonota viridescens. © President and Fellows of Harvard College.  Photograph by Joe Michael.

SPINELESS

A Glass Menagerie of Blaschka Marine Invertebrates

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Curated by Krystal Rose and James T. Carlton

For millennia, naturalists, scientists, sailors, and artists have been fascinated by marine invertebrates, an abundant, diverse, and ubiquitous group of sea creatures including sponges, jellyfish, sea anemones, crustaceans, mollusks (such as sea slugs and octopuses), sea squirts, and many more. However, finding a way to document these spineless species was often a challenge. When alive and in their natural habitats, many species, especially those with soft bodies, present in vibrant colors and unusual shapes. When extracted from the sea, the animals may quickly become colorless, shapeless, and sometimes almost unrecognizable.

The major exhibition Spineless, opened on October 21, 2023 at Mystic Seaport Museum, explores some of the inspiring ways that people have tried to record the ocean’s mesmerizing marine invertebrates. The main theme of the exhibition features the intriguing story of father and son glassmakers Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka of Dresden, Germany. In the 1850s, the elder Blaschka became fascinated by invertebrates he observed while at sea. Inspired to produce glass models that would capture their forms, anatomical details, and colors, he and his son went on to create a unique mail-order catalogue business. They successfully sold and distributed these often extraordinarily fragile pieces to museums and universities around the world for teaching and display purposes. Over forty of these exquisite models from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and other institutions will be displayed.

The exhibition also features sailors’ journals and rare books containing sketches, watercolors, written descriptions, and photographs — giving a glimpse into early documentation and scientific work at sea. Alongside the Blaschka glass models and these rarely-seen archival and library materials will be a selection of “wet specimens” preserved in jars from the Yale Peabody Museum, Deparment of Invertebrate Zoology, and from other collections, which highlight the challenges and successes of preserving invertebrates for scientific study.

Some of the species the Blaschkas created in glass live today in waters local to the Museum, and some have since become introduced species around the world, including in Mystic. Those models are singled out and put into context through the work of Dr. James T. Carlton, Director Emeritus of the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Coastal and Ocean Studies Program, and one of the world’s leading experts in marine bioinvasions.

The exhibit also features depictions of marine invertebrates by contemporary artists Steffen Dam, Suzette Mouchaty, and Emily Williams, along with the photography of marine biologist and underwater photographer, Jeff Milisen, and Mystic Seaport Museum Photographer, Joe Michael.

The exhibit complements another major exhibition, Alexis Rockman: Oceanus, now on display at the Museum from May 2023 to April 2024. Spineless, Oceanus, and a new series of waterfront panels on introduced species will highlight many of the same invertebrates created by the Blaschkas.

Spineless was made possible by generous support from:

The Edward and Mary Lord Foundation

The SpringRiver Foundation

Design Principles, Inc.

Thank you to the individuals and institutions who loaned materials for this exhibition.

Elizabeth Brill

Marian and Russell Burke

Corning Museum of Glass

Ernst Mayr Library at Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology

Suzette Mouchaty

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Museum of Science, Boston

New Bedford Whaling Museum

Emily Williams

Yale Peabody Museum Department of Invertebrate Zoology

NOW CLOSED | Alexis Rockman: Oceanus

Post date June 23, 2022

Alexis Rockman: Oceanus

EXHIBITION HAS ENDED

Alexis Rockman: Oceanus is a major exhibition featuring ten large-scale watercolors and an 8-by-24-foot panoramic painting, all commissioned by the Museum to become part of the permanent collection. The project represents a shift in perspective at the Museum to raise awareness and inspire conversations around the critical global issues that face our oceans due to the impacts of maritime activities as part of our collective cultural, social, and economic heritage.

The central work, Oceanus, takes the viewer on a journey of global discovery beneath the world’s changing seas, deftly weaving natural history, archeology, adventure, political analysis, and science into a story about the human condition. Oceanus features twenty-two vessels, sixteen of which were inspired by models of watercraft in the Museum’s collections. The boats and ships presented help to show the history of human activity in relation to the ocean, including their direct ties to the exploitation of resources in the world’s waters. The ten watercolors, with their large swaths of intense fluid colors, explore some of the most pressing issues of our time, from the biodiversity crisis, pollution, and marine invasive species to extinction and climate change.

Oceanus will also serve as the anchor in a Museum-wide initiative to educate visitors on marine invasive species. Programming and educational opportunities throughout the run of the show will harness the many resources of the Museum and partner organizations and the expertise of the Museum staff to address the science and impact of this most pressing issue.

As we look to our global maritime heritage, which Mystic Seaport Museum is committed to preserving, this project and these remarkable works will spark critical discussions on a crisis that faces us all—inspiring productive conversation and a rethinking of what has been and shall be our maritime legacy.

The exhibition is accompanied by Alexis Rockman: Oceanus, a 160-page publication by Rizzoli and Mystic Seaport Museum, featuring interviews and essays by Robert D. Ballard, Christina Connett Brophy, James T. Carlton, Sylvia A. Earle, Michael R. Harrison, Alexis Rockman, Helen M. Rozwadowski, and Nari Ward.

Mystic Seaport Museum has engaged with Museums.Co to offer fine art prints of the artworks in the exhibition. The Museums.Co archival print collection is an exclusive offering of artwork presented in a museum quality format. Through extensive color matching and artist proofing, these reproductions are incredible representations of the original works. Mystic Seaport Museum and the artist, Alexis Rockman, receive a portion of the sale for each print purchased. By clicking the button below, you will be re-directed to the Museums.Co website where the prints may be purchased.

ALEXIS ROCKMAN: OCEANUS is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Mystic Seaport Museum Members. For underwriting and sponsorship opportunities please contact Chris Freeman at chris.freeman@mysticseaport.org.

NOW CLOSED | Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano

Post date May 19, 2022

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of James McNeill Whistler, 1897, oil on canvas, 75 1/4 x 45 1/2 x 5 in., Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy, 09.849

English | Spanish

Sargent, Whistler, & Venetian Glass

American Artists and the Magic of Murano

EXHIBITION HAS ENDED

SAAM, Singer Sargent — John Singer Sargent A Venetian Woman, 1882, oil on canvas, 93 3/4 x 52 3/8 in., Cincinnati Art Museum, The Edwin and Virginia Irwin Memorial, 1972.37

Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano, brings to life the Venetian glass revival of the late nineteenth century and the artistic experimentation the city inspired for visiting artists. It is the first comprehensive examination of American tourism, artmaking, and art collecting in Venice, revealing the glass furnaces and their new creative boom as a vibrant facet of the city’s allure.

Though the Venetian island of Murano has been a leading center of glass-making since the middle ages, today’s thriving industry stems from a burst in production between 1860 and 1915. In this era, Murano glassmakers began specializing in delicate and complex hand-blown vessels, dazzling the world with brilliant colors and virtuoso sculptural flourishes. This glass revival coincided with a surge in Venice’s popularity as a destination for tourists, leading to frequent depictions of Italian glassmakers and glass objects by artists from abroad. American painters and their patrons visited the glass furnaces, and many collected ornate goblets and vases decorated with flowers, dragons, and sea creatures. Venetian glass vessels, and also glass mosaics, quickly became more than souvenirs—these were esteemed as museum-quality works of fine art.

Moreover, the inventions of Murano’s master glassmakers established Venice as a center for artistic experimentation. Sojourns in Venice were turning points for John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, and scores of artists who followed in their footsteps, often referencing the glass industry in their works. Featuring more than 140 objects, this exhibition presents a choice selection of glass vessels in conversation with paintings, watercolors, and prints by the many talented American artists who found inspiration in Venice. This juxtaposition reveals the impact of Italian glass on American art, literature, design theory, and science education, as well as ideas at the time about gender, labor, and class relations. In addition to works by Sargent and Whistler, the exhibition features paintings and prints by Frank Duveneck, Thomas Moran, William Merritt Chase, Maurice Prendergast, Maxfield Parrish, Louise Cox, and Ellen Day Hale. These are featured alongside rarely seen Venetian glass mosaic portraits and glass cups, vases, and urns by the leading glassmakers of Murano, including members of the legendary Seguso, Barovier, and Moretti families. Remarkable works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection join loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and dozens of other distinguished public and private collections.

Robert Frederick Blum, Canal in Venice, San Trovaso Quarter, ca. 1885, oil on canvas, 34 x 23 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.7

Attributed to Ercole Barovier or Nicol Barovier, Mosaic Glass Goblet, ca. 1914-28, blown and applied hot worked glass, with mosaic glass inclusions, 6 5/8 x 3 1/4 in. diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.8.469.

For Sargent, Whistler, and many of their patrons, Venetian glassware was irresistibly beautiful, and collecting these exquisite vessels expressed respect for both history and innovation. By recreating their transatlantic journey—from the furnaces of Murano to American parlors and museums—this exhibition and catalogue will bring to life the creative energy that beckoned nineteenth-century tourists and artists to Venice. This spirit spawned the renowned Venice Biennale contemporary art festival, and it lives on in Venetian glassmakers’ continued commitment to excellence.

The exhibition is organized by Crawford Alexander Mann III, former curator of prints and drawings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, current Chief Curator at Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia.

Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support has been provided by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Embassy of Italy in Washington DC, Chris G. Harris, the Raymond J. and Margaret Horowitz Endowment, Janet and William Ellery James, William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund, Maureen and Gene Kim, The Lunder Foundation—Peter and Paula Lunder Family, Lucy S. Rhame, Holly and Nick Ruffin, the Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Awards, Rick and Lucille Spagnuolo, and Myra and Harold Weiss.

The accompanying catalogue is supported in part by Jane Joel Knox.

This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

In-kind support has been provided by Christie’s.

NOW CLOSED | Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Post date May 17, 2022

global foundation for ocean exploration

Inspiration Through Exploration

EXHIBITION HAS ENDED

About the Exhibit

Ask someone working in the maritime fields today what inspired them to choose this career path and you will get a wide variety of answers. For some it was watching Jacques Cousteau or reading Jules Verne, or perhaps it’s a family tradition or just the lure of the sea. In any case, they were inspired.

The Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) has created a gallery of stunning underwater video imagery that will inspire visitors to delve deeper into the present-day maritime experience. Information on their explorations is presented to inspire the next generation of explorers and promote STEM careers. The visitor is taken along on expeditions via live, satellite technology to become part of the team and see the discoveries as they are being made.

About the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

GFOE explores the earth’s greatest depths, produces the tools needed to get there, fosters relationships with global partners, and takes the general public along for the ride. The GFOE team designs, builds, and operates some of the most advanced underwater robotic technology in the field. Through their work in the deep sea, they help society to understand, interpret, and protect the critical ocean environment.

GFOE trains today’s ocean exploration workforce, not only for the national ocean exploration program, but for the community at large. They identify and develop career paths for young engineers that allow them to experience an end-to-end process of undersea technology design through application. They are also committed to supporting filmmakers who can tell the stories of the ocean, helping to increase public awareness and appreciation of the underwater environment.

NOW CLOSED | A Spectacle in Motion: The Grand Panorama

Post date May 2, 2022

A Spectacle in Motion

The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World

EXHIBITION HAS ENDED

In 1848, New Bedford artists Benjamin Russell and Caleb Purrington announced to the world they had completed their Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World. Russell was an emerging artist and bankrupt whaling investor who had just spent 42 months (1841-1844) on a whaling voyage to the Indian Ocean and North Pacific aboard the ship Kutusoff. When he returned, Purrington joined him in creating this massive painting as a commercial enterprise for public entertainment. Performed as a moving panorama, this 1,275-foot long and 8-foot high painting was separated onto four alternating spools, which were mounted in a theater or public hall for a paid performance. It toured the East, transported by train, ship, and wagon to Boston, New York and as far West as St. Louis.

In an era before the age of cinema, the Panorama is a rare extant example of commercial enterprise, designed to exploit the panorama craze of the 19th century with tales of the high seas. This era’s popular entertainment was dominated by illusion and spectacle, the exotic and the unknown. This was the age of the traveling circus, public theater, pantomimes, the height of popularity of the curiosities sideshow, and the birth of grand World’s Fairs.

The Panorama, which is owned and preserved by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, depicts in fascinating detail the voyage of a typical mid-19^th century New Bedford whaleship on its journey ‘round the world’ in pursuit of whales. Along the way, it depicts scenes (some from Russell’s experience, some historic, and some imagined) in such far-flung places as the Azores, Cape Verde, Brazil, Tahiti, and Hawaii. People, places, vessels, wildlife, and events spring to life as they were seen from a 19^th-century perspective.

During the conservation of the artifact in 2017, the entire painting was digitized for reproduction and then exhibited in New Bedford. It now appears at Mystic Seaport Museum, one 30-foot scene at a time, in companion with a 34-minute narrated digital film that depicts the entire painting much as it would have been seen in 1848.

Making a cameo appearance is the last wooden whaleship in the world — the Museum’s Charles W. Morgan. The Morgan is one of more than 100 vessels to appear in this painting, and most likely the only one still afloat. Its first voyage coincided with the time that Russell was on the Kutusoff, and he probably saw it in the Azores, where it appears in the Panorama.

Visitors are encouraged to pick up their free Grand Panorama Passport. The Museum will be issuing stamps for each port of call and each scene — there are 15 over the course of the exhibition. Awards will be given to those with multiple stamps and a special prize for those who collect all 15.

Don’t miss this opportunity to join a whaling voyage “’round the world” through the eyes of a Yankee whaler!

Scene Change Schedule

New Bedford (May 29)
New Bedford East (June 17)
Azores (July 8)
Fayal, Azores (July 29)
Cidade Velha, Cape Verde (August 19)
Fogo, Cape Verde (September 9)
Rio de Janeiro (September 30)
Rio de Janeiro (October 21)
Cape Horn (November 11)
Juan Fernandez Island (December 2)
Society Islands and the Essex (December 16)
Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii (January 6, 2022)
Lahaina, Maui (January 27, 2022)
Northwest Pacific Whaling (February 17, 2022)
Fiji (March 10, 2022)

A SPECTACLE IN MOTION: THE GRAND PANORAMA OF A WHALING VOYAGE ‘ROUND THE WORLD IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM AND THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM, WHICH OWNS AND PRESERVES THE PANORAMA.

NOW CLOSED | A Way With Wood

Post date May 2, 2022

A Way With Wood: Celebrating Craft

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The Collins Gallery in the Thompson Exhibition Building is the host of the exhibition A Way with Wood: Celebrating Craft. The show introduces visitors to the many ways people transform one of nature’s most malleable materials to objects of utility, art, and beauty.

At the core of the exhibition is a boat-restoration and boat-building demonstration staffed by the Museum’s shipwrights. At times, their work in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard, at the other end of campus, can be hidden from public view or can only be observed at a distance. For this exhibition, the shipwrights take center stage and are carrying out different projects over the course of the show. The first is a restoration of Afterglow, the tender to the Museum’s schooner Brilliant. Little to no power tools will be used; the focus will be on work using hand tools.

Complementing the shipwrights’ work is a section where outside artisans will be invited in for periods of time to set up shop to practice and share their craft with the public. This changing stable of craftsmen might feature a variety of different disciplines: wood carving, furniture making, sculpture, and model making are some of the possibilities.

Throughout the gallery, there will be displays of objects from the collections, such as rare tools, unique carvings, small boats, photographs, and other artifacts that illustrate the wide range of ways wood has been shaped by the artisan’s hand.

The displays in A Way with Wood will change as new projects, artisans, and objects rotate in and out. The exhibition is intended to evolve over time and provide different views into the world of craftsmanship and wood.

“Warm, renewable, flexible, strong – the remarkable qualities of wood have appealed to countless generations, making it the traditional go-to material for crafting boats, buildings, docks, and furniture,” says Director of Exhibits Elysa Engelman. “We’re excited to be using our largest and newest gallery to show-off our staff skills and collection connections, by celebrating woodcraft and the craft of woodworking in a maritime setting.”

NOW CLOSED | Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers

Post date April 19, 2022

Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers

EXHIBITION HAS ENDED

“Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers” is an exploration of America’s historic and contemporary relationship with whales and whaling. The exhibition opened after the 38th Voyage of the 1841 whaleship and National Historic Landmark Charles W. Morgan, the flagship and signature vessel of Mystic Seaport Museum, which sits at its berth within sight of the gallery entrance.

Using collections artifacts and artwork alongside compelling audio-visual elements, immersive displays, and thought-provoking interpretation, “Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers” pushes past the mechanics of whaling to show the richer and deeper stories of the peoples, places, ships, and whales that impacted and were impacted by whaling since the Morgan’s construction in 1841.

In the words of guest curator Anne Witty, “The stories in this exhibit braid together people, whales, history, and culture. Here are tales of work and wonder, wealth and poverty, nature and society. Objects of work, struggle, and leisure. Images of violence and beauty, of forgotten people and lifeways that are strange to us today.”

On display are more than 100 whaling-related artifacts, images, and documents, including logbooks, photographs, scrimshaw, ship models, and souvenirs, as well as moving images, oral histories, and sound recordings. Some of the artifacts and images have only recently been added to the collection and are on public display for the first time.

Interactive Elements

The Museum partnered with Northern Light Productions to create original multimedia elements to help bridge the gap between the whalers’ world and our own. A short film presents a content-rich, visually stunning introduction to the exhibit topic and themes, using high-definition footage shot during the 38th Voyage along with archival whaling footage and brief shots of people, artifacts, and stories that are more fully explored in the exhibit.

Touch-activated “Dive Deeper” information stations, featuring videos, timelines, digital maps, and games, allow visitors to further explore the study of whales and the whaling industry. Visitors can also search a database for crew members that sailed aboard the whaleship Charles W. Morgan and learn more about the vessel’s recent restoration.

To convey the global stories of whales, whaling, and whale research, a large three-dimensional projection globe showing all the world’s oceans tells the universal, geographically-rich stories of the Morgan and presents compelling contemporary research. Video programs enable visitors to sail back to 1841 and follow the journey the Morgan took on her first whaling voyage, explore diversity aboard whaleships, and see how tracking whales has evolved over the past 200 years.

“Most people are familiar with whaling through the lens of popular culture or reading Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick,” said Mystic Seaport Museum President Steve White. “’Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers’ pushes past the common perception and the mechanics of whaling to show the richer and deeper stories of the peoples, places, ships, and whales that impacted and were impacted by the industry.”

The 38th Voyagers

During the Charles W. Morgan‘s historic 38th Voyage in 2014, 85 individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds sailed aboard the ship and participated in an unprecedented public-history project. This select group, which included artists, historians, scientists, journalists, teachers, musicians, scholars, and whaling descendants, used their own perspectives and talents to document and filter their experience. Some of these creative products are on display in “Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers.”

More Information

The Charles W. Morgan

The 38th Voyage

Exhibit Support

Lance R. Wachenheim

Edgard & Geraldine Feder Foundation

Anonymous

NOW CLOSED | Story Boats: The Tales They Tell

Post date April 19, 2022

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's yacht VIREO.

Story Boats: The Tales they Tell

EXHIBITION HAS ENDED

One of the Museum’s greatest assets is its small watercraft collection, which is arguably the largest of its type and the best in the country. Mystic Seaport Museum has more than 450 small watercraft as well as a fleet of larger historic vessels tethered to our docks along the Mystic River, four of which are designated National Historic Landmarks. As a whole, these vessels represent an extraordinary array of design, purpose, and materials beginning in the early 19th century to the present, from dugout canoes to duck boats to Boston Whalers and everything in between and beyond. What ties these boats together thematically, and is the inspiration for the exhibition Story Boats: The Tales They Tell, is the remarkable richness of human interest stories behind them, which include themes of hope, exploration, survival, joy, adventure, sport, immigration, and many others.

Our Clark Senior Curator for Watercraft, Quentin Snediker, consulted with a diverse pool of experts and regular people to distill a list of boats from the collection that have these outstanding stories to tell. The exhibition installation in the Collins Gallery will fully utilize the grand volume of the space to advantage, where some of the lighter vessels will “fly” suspended from the ceiling, while others will be mounted on the gallery floor. Each vessel will be exhibited with an iconic object that alludes to its story. For example, the team is working to borrow pieces from a collection of Franklin D. Roosevelt artifacts to show alongside his 1914 knockabout sloop Vireo. Shortly before a family trip aboard this elegant small yacht in 1921, it is believed that Roosevelt contracted polio. He was aboard this small vessel on the last day he walked without assistance.

Mystic Seaport Museum recently received a collection of material from Steven Callahan, author of Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea, the true story of his survival of being lost at sea in a rubber raft after his solo sailing trip across the Atlantic met with disaster. His sketches and some of the survival tools he created from his scant supplies will be on display with a similar model of the raft from which he found rescue off Guadeloupe. Callahan’s recent oral histories recorded by Mystic Seaport Museum will also be available in the exhibition.

Another fascinating story involves the Analuisa (pictured above), a 20-foot fishing vessel built by Luciano Cuadras Fernández, which was launched from Mariel, Cuba, in 1994 with 19 people aboard bound to immigrate to Florida. Partway across, they were picked up by a passing cruise ship, whose crew was no doubt worried about the heavily overcrowded vessel. A very fortunate crew of four on a floundering vessel also out of Cuba, happened upon the abandoned Analuisa and brought her safely to Key West. The sturdy Analuisa was a success story for two immigrant groups in one voyage. These are just a few of the hundreds of amazing stories that are tied to our Gallery collection.

To complement the Collins Gallery exhibition, other watercraft will be mounted on the deck surrounding the Thompson Exhibition Building and the surrounding grounds, including Tango, a bright orange foot-pedal powered craft designed by the legendary Bruce Kirby. In 1992, Dwight Collins pedaled from Newfoundland to England in 41 days, the fastest human-powered crossing in known history. In addition to these displays, there will be special visitor maps to floating Story Boats vessels that carry their own powerful tales, including the Gerda III, which is on long-term loan from the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. In 1943, a courageous 22-year-old woman named Henny Sinding organized a resistance team to carry more than 300 Jews from Nazi-occupied Denmark to safety in Sweden aboard the Gerda III.

At any time, visitors can roam the boat-filled docks and even step aboard some of our larger ships that live in or next to the Mystic River. We hope that Story Boats whets the appetite of the public to learn more about our extraordinary collection and helps them find their own connection to the sea.

DEEPSEA CHALLENGER

Voyage to the Deep – Underwater Adventures

SPINELESS

A Glass Menagerie of Blaschka Marine Invertebrates

Alexis Rockman: Oceanus

Sargent, Whistler, & Venetian Glass

American Artists and the Magic of Murano

global foundation for ocean exploration

Inspiration Through Exploration

A Spectacle in Motion

The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World

Scene Change Schedule

A SPECTACLE IN MOTION: THE GRAND PANORAMA OF A WHALING VOYAGE ‘ROUND THE WORLD IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM AND THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM, WHICH OWNS AND PRESERVES THE PANORAMA.

A Way With Wood: Celebrating Craft

Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers

Story Boats: The Tales they Tell

MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM

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