Mystic, Conn. (December 1, 2022) – Mystic Seaport Museum is set to launch the 1885 Schooner Yacht Coronet currently located in Newport, Rhode Island on Friday, December 2. Over the course of the past few weeks, the building which housed Coronet has been dismantled to allow a 1000-ton floating crane to access the vessel.
The below images show the progression of the work done to date, as well as the preliminary sketches for moving the vessel.
Photos courtesy of the @coronetnyc Instagram account.
Once lifted from land, it will be placed in the water adjacent to IYRS School of Technology and Trades, where it has been undergoing restoration since 2006. The vessel will remain there for several days allowing the new hull planking to swell and seal the hull before being towed to the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport Museum for completion of the restoration project, a process that is expected to take approximately three years. The timing of the lift cannot be pinpointed at this time, but crane movements and setup will be happening all day.
Once towed, the journey to Mystic will take approximately eight hours and will end through the Mystic Bascule Bridge, up the Mystic River to the shipyard at the south end of the Museum. An arrival date to the Museum has not yet been confirmed as the voyage is weather dependent. More information will be forthcoming.
Several factors, including weather, will affect the launch and departure date of Coronet from IYRS. We recommend following our social channels for the latest updates and a live stream (Facebook & Instagram) of the event.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Mystic, Conn. (November 8, 2022) – The Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport Museum is preparing to receive a massive restoration project later this month. Coronet, the 1885 Schooner, and what may be considered the last of the Gilded Age yachts will be making its way to Mystic for a three year restoration. The hauling process is proving to be an impressive undertaking in and of itself, as the vessel is currently on dry dock and indoors at IYRS School of Technology and Trades in Newport, Rhode Island, where it has been under restoration since 1995.
First launched in 1885, Coronet was one of the most elegant sailing yachts of its day. Intended for crossing the ocean in style, the 131-foot schooner was designed by William Townsend and built for Rufus T. Bush by the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn. Bush then put forth a $10,000 challenge (roughly $300,000 in today’s dollars) against any other yacht for a transatlantic race. The ocean race between the Coronet and the yacht Dauntless in March 1887 made Rufus T. Bush and the victorious Coronet famous—the New York Times devoted its entire first page on March 28, 1887 to the story.
Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is uniquely suited to the task. In 2007, a major investment was made to upgrade the Shipyard’s shiplift which allows it to haul vessels up to 450 tons, a capability unmatched by any other facility on eastern seaboard.
Since 1995, Coronet has been under restoration at IYRS, the premier marine trades and modern manufacturing school in the United States. Originally purchased as a student project to provide the hands-on experience in historic wooden vessel restoration the school is known for, the schooner was later sold to a private buyer but remained at IYRS under restoration by a team of shipwrights who included IYRS students and alumni. Coronet has been one of Newport’s favorite maritime attractions during its years at IYRS.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Coronet will be moved from dry dock at IYRS and hauled to the Museum in a complex and meticulously planned series of events. Currently underway is the dismantling of the building where Coronet resides, allowing a 1000 ton floating crane to access the vessel. Coronet will then be lifted from the former building site to a dock near IYRS. From there it will make the journey from Newport to Mystic on an eight-hour trip that will end through the Mystic Bascule Bridge and up the Mystic River to the shiplift at the south end of the Museum. Coronet will reside there until restoration is complete, a process that is expected to take approximately three years.
Coronet was recently purchased by Crew, a New York based company run by brothers Alex and Miles Pincus. The purchase and continued restoration efforts of Coronet are in line with Crew’s long history of historic vessel restoration. “Coronet is without equal. Her restoration is a calling that we feel destined to pursue. ”
The Museum and the team at the Shipyard have worked with Crew over the years to maintain vessels in their existing fleet, most recently, Pilot, a wooden schooner with a nearly 100-year history that now serves as a seasonal oyster bar located at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6. “Working with Crew has always been a pleasure, and they understand the historic preservation of their fleet. We look forward to this exciting project to bring Coronet to life,” says Chris Gasiorek, Senior Vice President of Operations and Watercraft at Mystic Seaport Museum.
Visitors to the Museum will be able to view the progress of the restoration as the Shipyard offers a unique opportunity to watch its shipwrights while they work. The restoration team will again include IYRS alumni who are looking forward to bringing Coronet’s restoration full circle. Spectators both near and far can also follow along with the restoration on social media at both the Museum and Coronet Instagram accounts.
*Several factors, including weather, will affect the departure date of Coronet from IYRS and arrival at the Museum. At this time, the anticipated arrival to the Museum is December 1. An exact date will be confirmed in a separate communication closer to that time.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
About Crew
Founded by brothers and lifelong sailors, Alex and Miles Pincus, Crew is an innovative hospitality group that creates and operates experience focused restaurants and maritime ventures.
Crew was built on a simple premise: to create experiences that we love and to share them with the world. Whether it’s sipping craft cocktails on a historic schooner overlooking New York Harbor or enjoying sustainable oysters in a cozy New Orleans hideaway, we focus on making the places we wish existed.
With a growing family of venues, including globally-acclaimed restaurants, a prized fleet of historic vessels, metropolitan marinas, and a renowned ship restoration team, Crew has established itself as a leader in the revitalization of New York’s waterfront and as the prototype for a new genre of urban experiences.
Mystic, Conn. (November 1, 2022) – Mystic Seaport Museum has launched a new logo for the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard, the first visual graphic identity in the Shipyard’s fifty-year history. This branding is a celebration of the Shipyard’s commitment to traditional wooden boat construction and historic ship restoration.
The new logo incorporates two iconic silhouettes: the Shipyard’s main shop, which serves as the heart of the Shipyard, and the Emma C. Berry, one of the oldest surviving commercial vessels in America, which has called the Museum home, since 1969. Berry is the world’s last authentic Noank oyster smack, listed on the National Historic Registry and served as an active fisherman for nearly 60 years from 1866 – 1924. Berry’s story, much like the Shipyard itself, is a Connecticut story and serves as the embodiment of Mystic’s deep connection to the sea.
“As so many have experienced when visiting the Museum, the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard is a special and distinct part of the Museum, and as such deserves its own identity,” said Chris Gasiorek, Senior Vice President of Operations and Watercraft. “This new branding will help us to share the spirit and traditional skills of our shipwrights to a broader audience.”
The new logo is being launched through a series of events the Museum is undertaking to celebrate the Shipyard’s 50th anniversary:
October 2022: A history of the Shipyard published in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine, written by the Clark Senior Curator for Watercraft, Quentin Snediker.
November 2022: A 3-minute mini-documentary produced by Smile Films will be released along with a social video series to feature our shipwrights on the Museum’s Instagram, TikTok & Facebook pages.
Late November 2022: New Shipyard merchandise including clothing and accessories available exclusively at the Museum gift shop just in time for the holidays.
Spring 2023: A Shipyard video podcast and dedicated social media channel are planned.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
This issue of the Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard, the first shipyard built specifically for preservation in the United States, and possibly the world. We also explore the digitization process at our Collection Research Center, the launch of MAINSHEET, a biannual peer-reviewed interdisciplinary publication and more.
Mystic, Conn. (September 20, 2022) – Mystic Seaport Museum has launched a creative partnership with event production agency Westerly Sound, founded by nationally-recognized artist, musician and Westerly resident, Sean W. Spellman. The new collaboration seeks to expand the current live music programming at the Museum, providing visitors with diverse performances from musicians and bands from around the country. The new partnership is discussing a monthly music series as well as a potential multi-day music festival on the Museum’s 19-acre campus sometime in the future.
The kickoff event, dubbed “Mystic Folkways,” will happen as part of the Museum’s 3-day Riverfest celebration happening October 8, 9, and 10. Mystic Folkways (presented by Westerly Sound) will take place on Sunday, October 9 and feature a number of national and regional acts, as well as notable locals. The lineup includes Deer Tick (acoustic), Ian Felice (Felice Brothers), Martin Courtney (Real Estate), Nick Panken (Spirit Family Reunion), Tim Easton, James Maple, Karl Blau, The Can Kickers, Wildflower, and Sol/Rio Family Band. The event will run 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Sean brings a ton of experience, creativity, energy and vision to this partnership, as well as a deep appreciation for the Museum’s unique location and long tradition of offering affordable, family-friendly entertainment.” says Kevin O’Leary, VP of Marketing & Business Development for Mystic Seaport Museum. “The whole area around Mystic is really buzzing, the state is enjoying live music more than ever, it’s the right time and place for a partnership like this.”
“Kevin’s vision for growing the Museums live music programming is something we immediately connected on” Spellman says. “I’m super excited to work with him and the rest of the staff there to do some really cool things at such a unique location. It’s an incredibly valuable cultural asset to our community and I’m grateful to be a part of it, and to work alongside a person with equal passion and understanding of the positive role music can play in bringing people together.”
All shows are included with the Museum’s general admission and free for current Museum members. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at www.mysticseaport.org.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
About Westerly Sound
Westerly Sound is an ongoing series of cultural events programmed in and around the coastal community of Westerly, RI, midway between New York City and Boston. Each with a music component, Westerly Sound presents art, food, film and concert events in unique spaces throughout Westerly and surrounding areas. Curated by Sean W Spellman, and first introduced as the United Folk Festival in July ‘17, Westerly Sound has grown to include a diverse lineup of artists in a constantly evolving series of locations…from music venues and historic buildings, to public parks and small studios. It has brought nationally recognized artists and musicians to the Westerly area and hopes to continue to do so in an attempt to support a creative community by promoting diverse cultural events of quality and recognition, open to people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy. For more information, please visit westerlysound.org and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Mystic, Conn. (September 13, 2022) – Mystic Seaport Museum was awarded a three-year Institute of Museum and Library Services Collections Stewardship grant totaling $236,788, to recover and improve access to selected cellulose diacetate negatives from the Museum’s Rosenfeld Collection of Maritime Photography that have been affected by a form of severe deterioration known as vinegar syndrome.
The Rosenfeld Collection, acquired in 1984 by Mystic Seaport Museum, is one of the largest archives of maritime photographs in the United States. The Collection contains nearly one million pieces from 1881 to 1992. This irreplaceable photography collection represents the evolution of photographic technology and documents the golden age of American yachting – an era of intensive recreational and competitive activity widely recognized for its impact on the preservation of American sailing knowledge, skills, and traditions.
The project team, which includes two grant-funded positions, will evaluate, select, recover/treat, digitize, rehouse, and catalog 5,000 images. The goal of the project is to create a sustainable model for the ongoing in-house treatment of negatives affected by vinegar syndrome and to freely share project results with the broader museum/archive community through professional conferences and digital/social media.
Approximately 150,000 Rosenfeld Collection negatives, dating from 1927 –1950s, are cellulose diacetate (safety film) and are prone to or already affected by vinegar syndrome. This grant will dovetail with another active federal grant and ongoing private support to recover a combined 8,500 images and enhance the sustainability of the project.
Improved digital access to the collection will benefit current and future exhibits of Mystic Seaport Museum and encourage research that brings a new lens to the Collection and our national maritime heritage. Connecting the photographed vessels to the stories of their crew members, voyages, or shipyards of origin will illuminate perspectives beyond the traditional view of yachting as an elite interest.
Mystic Seaport Museum will continue these preservation efforts well beyond the grant period. Recovering, digitizing, and cataloging these images speaks to agency-level IMLS collections stewardship goals of supporting collections care and management and promoting access to museum collections.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. The agency advances, supports, and empowers America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grant-making, research, and policy development. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov or follow on Facebook and Twitter.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Mystic, Conn. (July 21, 2022) – Mystic Seaport Museum has launched a program under its Caring for our Community initiative to encourage a diverse audience to visit the Museum by offering free general admission to those receiving food assistance (SNAP). The program will run from September 6 through December 31, 2022 and provides free general admission for six people (up to 2 adults per group) with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card.
Through this program the Museum has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits. Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible members of the public at more than 850 museums across the country. Museums for All is part of the Mystic Seaport Museum’s broad commitment to seek, include, and welcome all audiences.
Funding for this program was made possible through a paddle raise campaign which took place at Mystic Seaport Museum’s America and the Sea Gala in October of 2021. Funds were initially raised to offer free admission to children this past summer but were reallocated for this new program when Governor Ned Lamont reinstated the CT Summer at the Museum initiative for the 2022 summer season.
“We are committed to leveling the playing field by making the Museum more accessible and by nurturing an environment of inclusion and diversity for our local community and beyond,” says Museum President, Peter Armstrong. Admission will provide visitors access to world class exhibitions, including the extraordinary exhibit “Sargent, Whistler & Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano” opening October 15 and organized in collaboration with the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Tickets for this program can be purchased online or in person. Learn more about our Caring for Our Community here.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Mystic, Conn. (July 21, 2022) – At 28, Sarah Armour has taken the helm as captain of the schooner Brilliant, celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. This exquisite wooden sailing vessel has been serving as an offshore classroom in Mystic Seaport Museum’s education programs for nearly 70 years. The program offers people of all ages the opportunity to learn about sailing on one of the finest wooden schooners ever built.
Brilliant was given to the Museum in 1953 specifically to be used as a sail training vessel for youth. Brilliant was custom-designed as a gaff-rigged schooner by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens for Walter Barnum, and was built in the Henry B. Nevins yard at City Island, N.Y. After World War II Brilliant was bought by Briggs Cunningham, who had the masts lengthened and sail area increased in the hopes of increasing the vessels speed. It was Cunningham who donated Brilliant to the Museum.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of Brilliant and through those years, the boat continues to thrive and stand the test of time, which is a testament to the original craftsmanship. At the request of Walter Barnum, the construction details were of the highest standard for a possible voyage around the world.
Although Brilliant has yet to complete a circumnavigation, it has sailed the equivalent of five times around the earth, with more than 11,000 students setting the sails and steering its course in the last 70 years. This year, Brilliant is guided by an all-female crew, Captain Armour, along with first mate, Sarah Nevin and cook, Ger Tysk, both of whom are USCG licensed captains.
When asked what makes Brilliant special, Armour notes, “This vessel has such a storied legacy, from her transatlantic record in 1933 to her current role running one of the oldest sail training programs in the country (since 1953!), Brilliant remains extraordinary.” She goes on to say, “Many folks don’t know this, but Brilliant has never had a rebuild! The vessel was built to a standard that I have yet to see matched elsewhere, and that has served Brilliant, her crew, and the Museum well.”
At 90 years young, Brilliant has endured the test of time, with most of its original infrastructure, which is extraordinary. When asked why she chose to become the captain of Brilliant, Armour’s response was, “When Brilliant calls, you answer.” Armour’s goal is to complete a transatlantic journey aboard Brilliant, but for now teens and adults alike are learning to sail and experience life aboard a boat on five-to-ten-day trips that impact the rest of their lives. This will forever be a part of the legacy of Brilliant.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Mystic, Conn. (June 30, 2022) – CT Summer at the Museum returns this summer and kicks off on Friday, July 1. Mystic Seaport Museum was awarded a grant from Connecticut Humanities to support the Museum’s participation in this program which invites Connecticut children ages 18 and under plus one accompanying Connecticut resident adult to visit participating museums free of charge from July 1 through September 5, 2022.
Funding for the initiative is provided by the CT General Assembly, with the support of Connecticut Humanities and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.
The Museum has committed to providing access to all children for the entire duration of this program. There will be no limit to the number of tickets available, nor will there be designated time slots for visitation. The program will run through September 5 regardless of fund availability.
“We are thrilled to participate in this program again and provide children from across Connecticut the opportunity to experience everything the Museum has to offer,” said Peter Armstrong, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “In the off season we committed to making improvements to enhance our visitor experience and we can’t wait to see children and families take advantage of those offerings.”
Some of our offerings include;
Get Out On the Water
The Museum’s location along the Mystic River allows families to get out on the water this season. Included with Museum entry, our Boathouse offers free rentals of row, pedal and sail boats. Visit here to learn more about all the ways you can get out on the water.
Fun, Experiential Learning for Children
The Susan Stucke Funk Children’s Museum provides a hands-on environment for children ages 4 to 7 to engage in such activities as swabbing the deck, moving cargo, cooking in the galley, dressing in sailors’ garb, and more.
Home Port is the Museum’s family activity center located in the P.R. Mallory Building, geared towards children ages 8-12 with a variety of crafts and amusements.
Discovery Barn is designed for families and themed around the schooner L.A. Dunton, it explores the scientific principles behind a boats sail power, stability, hull shape, and the simples machines behind running it.
Visit here to learn more about these spaces and more!
Enhanced Food Offerings
Enjoy our newly renovated spaces and updated menus at Greenman’s Landing (formerly The Galley), Propellor Cafe, Anchor Cafe or enjoy a quick bite to eat and a variety of drink options at Spouter’s Tavern while children run and play with the Charles W. Morgan as their backdrop. Explore the new menus here.
The Museum continues to offer world-class exhibitions including, Story Boats: The Tales They Tell, Figureheads and Shipcarvings, Sailor Made: Folk Art of the Sea, Sea As Muse and more. Other experiences available for an additional fee include Treworgy Planetarium, Toy Boat Building and river cruises aboard Liberty.
“There isn’t enough time in one day to see everything the Museum has to offer, and with the CT Summer at the Museum program, families can come back as they please for a unique experience each and every time,” says Armstrong.
To learn more about the CT Summer at the Museum program, visit our site here.
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
About Connecticut Humanities
CT Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.
About Connecticut Office of the Arts
The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) is the state agency charged with fostering the health of Connecticut’s creative economy. Part of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the COA is funded by the State of Connecticut as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.
Jo
hn Singer Sargent
,
A Venetian Woman
, 18
82
,
oil on canvas, 93 3/4 x 52 3/8 in., Cincinnati Art Museum,
The Edwin and Virginia Irwin Memorial, 1972.37
Opens at Mystic Seaport Museum October 15, 2022
With more than 115 works from over 40 institutions and private collections, the exhibition is one of the Museum’s most ambitious to date
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
Mystic, Conn. (July 7, 2022) – The exhibition Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano is the first comprehensive examination of American artmaking, tourism, and art collecting in Venice, bringing to life the Venetian glass revival of the late 19th century as well as the artistic experimentation the city inspired for visiting artists. On view at the Mystic Seaport Museum from October 15, 2022 through February 27, 2023, the exhibition is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where it was originally on view. Christina Connett Brophy, Senior Vice President of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Director of Museum Galleries at Mystic Seaport Museum, has expanded and tailored the exhibition for its Mystic iteration. This presentation considers the work through the lens of another vibrant port city which saw a heyday during the period covered by the collection: Mystic, Connecticut and greater New England. In Mystic, the exhibition adds new objects, displays, and pedagogical tools and experiences drawing from the Museum’s own collection and expertise.
Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano brings together more than 115 artworks, including rare etchings by James McNeill Whistler and major oil paintings by John Singer Sargent. More than a quarter of the objects on display are from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection, joining loans from more than 40 institutions—such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago—as well as private collections. Paintings and prints intermingle among rarely seen Venetian glass mosaic portraits and glass cups, vases, and urns by the leading glassmakers of Murano, including members of the Seguso and Barovier families. Several artworks were conserved by the Smithsonian specifically for inclusion in the exhibition, including an ornate Byzantine revival gold and glass mosaic necklace.
“Venice has long captivated American artists and collectors who have been inspired by the creative talents of Venetians in glassmaking and other disciplines,” said Peter Armstrong, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “Presenting the exhibition, Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano, gives us the opportunity to draw on Mystic Seaport Museum’s unique insight into this same period of time, and expand the understanding of the show’s original thesis.”
Between 1860 and 1915, the renowned glassmaking industry on the Venetian island of Murano experienced intense growth. Cross-cultural connections were paved between Italy and the United States via ocean pathways and easier travel. This Venetian glass revival coincided with a surge in Venice’s popularity as a destination for Americans, many of whom visited the glass furnaces and eagerly collected ornate hand-blown goblets decorated with floral and animal motifs. Collector interest led to frequent depictions of Italian glassmakers and glass objects by prominent American artists of that era, including not only Sargent and Whistler, but the likes of Robert Frederick Blum, Frank Duveneck, Ellen Day Hale, Bertha Evelyn Jaques, Thomas Moran, and Walter Launt Palmer. During the same time, Venice’s other decorative arts industries–most notably mosaics, lace, and jewelry–saw a renaissance, in part through American patronage. The collection presents Venetian works in conversation with paintings, watercolors, and prints by American artists who found inspiration in Venice.
At Mystic Seaport Museum, object, pedagogical, and experiential additions to the exhibition draw on the port city of Mystic’s own heritage in parallel to that of Venice. New to the Mystic exhibition, visitors will see contemporary glass and lace work that shows the continued impact of Venetian-imported craft today and the associated tools for making such work. Additionally, photographs printed from glass plate negatives taken in Venice at the time, and a gondola on loan from La Gondola Providence, Inc. will be on display.
Drawing further on Mystic Seaport Museum’s curatorial and community knowledge, the show will also explore related anthropological questions, such as the relationship between these transatlantic cultural exchanges and local, exploitative trade with American indigenous populations. Mystic, similarly to Venice, exists as a port city battling sea level rises, creating challenges to historic buildings and artifacts.
“Bringing The Magic of Murano to Mystic Seaport Museum not only leverages our unique ability to add the rich viewpoint gained by adding physical objects in our collection and craft expertise to the exhibition,” says Brophy, “but it also gives us an important opportunity to directly add a broader range of voices to our understanding of the exchange that is explored in the Smithsonian’s incredible exhibition.”
BOOK
The 335-page, fully-illustrated catalog provides the first survey of the American grand tour to Venice combining fine and decorative arts. The book features five new essays from experts in the history of American art and Venetian glass including Sheldon Barr, independent scholar of Venetian revival glass; Melody Barnett Deusner, associate professor of art history at Indiana University Bloomington; Diana Jocelyn Greenwold, Lunder Curator of American Art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art; Stephanie Mayer Heydt, the Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of American Art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta; and Alex Mann, former Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Brittany Emens Strupp, curatorial assistant and doctoral candidate in art history at Temple University contributed to the artist biographies. Co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in association with Princeton University Press, is available for purchase ($65).
CREDIT
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, the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., 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 catalog 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.
Upgrades to the exhibition at the Mystic Seaport Museum are supported by DEAI/Mellon and other partners.
Events
Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano will be accompanied by a robust program of events and public programming to be announced this Summer.
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About Mystic Seaport Museum
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Contact:
Lourdes Miller
Account Coordinator, Visual Arts
Blue Medium
T: +1 212-675-1800 lourdes@bluemedium.com
