Lecture Series

James Craig: Frank Vining Smith: Rediscovered Master Painter of the New England Shore
Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 1:00 P.M.

Author James Craig will discuss his new biography Frank Vining Smith: Rediscovered Master Painter of the New England Shore. The book is the first definitive attempt at exploring the art and life of this prolific artist that spanned World War I and World War II.

Frank Vining Smith (1879-1967) has been called “the ultimate in marine painting” and America’s last true marine artist. Renown for accuracy and painstaking technical detail, Smith won critical acclaim for his painting of wind-driven clipper ships. Painted with an authentic appreciation for the sea and its ships, Smith’s paintings were exhibited in the country’s most prestigious galleries and collected nationwide.

Join us for a discussion of Smith’s life and work, including painting ship camouflage in World War I and the Smith paintings within The Mariners’ Museum collection.  

Andrew Jampoler: Sailors in the Holy Land: The 1848 American Expedition to the Dead Sea and the Search for Sodom and Gomorrah
Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 1:00 P.M.

Author Andrew Jampoler will discuss his book “Sailors in the Holy Land: The 1848 American Expedition to the Dead Sea and the Search for Sodom and Gomorrah.” A sea story of unusual dimensions, the author chronicles the Navy’s first and last expedition to the Dead Sea as they attempted to collect scientific specimens and determine the exact elevation of the well known salt lake of the Old Testament. All the while, the expedition’s leader sought to discover the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah.