Approaching any 6 and a-half foot tall by 10 and a half foot wide painting is an experience. The sheer magnitude leaves you wondering whether you want to get closer or step back. But when approaching a Thomas Skinner piece, like this one – “The Foundry”, we feel as if we can step in.

Robert Turner Ewell, a Coast Guard Veteran, a Shipbuilder, and a Norfolk, VA native was one who was inspired by the story of USS Monitor. In this episode of Beyond the Frame we'll explore the ways in which USS Monitor's story met aspects of Ewell's life and led him to create a work depicting the Ironclad in a style that is purely his own.

In this edition of Beyond the Frame, we explore a work showing an early America's Cup match race in New York harbor by beloved maritime artist, James Edward Buttersworth (British-American 1817-1894). The story we thought it depicted, however, is not correct. Read on to discover the truth behind this painting, including an exclusive interview with Curator of Maritime History and Culture and Director of the Ifland Center for Exploration, Jeanne Willoz-Egnor.

In order to conserve these complex pieces of machinery, a large part of our job is to disassemble them. This allows for appropriate treatment of the different materials.

“Unidentified Coast Guard Vessel” by Hunter Wood is a 1943 oil on canvas. It was exciting – crisp, and idyllic in an adventurous way, showing the Coast Guard in action. Their clean, well kept boat breaking heroically through the daunting wave, the guardsman on the bow.

The Sumter’s cruise launched the career of one of the greatest commerce raider commanders in history.

In Frank Vining Smith's ca 1900-40 oil painting, The Wild Gulf Stream,  we explore the artist's muse and his inspirations through his depiction of a singular large wave that fills his grand canvas. His life led him to the waters' edge time and time again, and in this blog we explore what it is about a wave that calls us, too.