The Noble Maritime Collection presents The 37th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction fundraiser on Friday, November 14

The Noble Maritime Collection will host the 37th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction, a fundraiser for the museum, on Friday, November 14.  The live auction at the museum will also be streamed on LiveAuctioneers.com, with a remote bidding option.

The auction is the Noble Maritime Collection’s major fundraising event of the year, and helps to cover up to 20% of the museum’s annual budget, making possible exhibitions and free and low-cost public programs including arts education for children of all ages and abilities. 

This year’s lots include original lithographs by the museum’s namesake, John A. Noble (1913-1983); watercolor and oil paintings; work in a variety of mediums by noted local contemporary artists; antique and vintage prints; and unique objects, including a hand-crafted sailors’ knife by auctioneer Scott Van Campen.

“The Noble Art Auction is a perennially successful fundraiser for the museum thanks to the incredible generosity of our community—artists and donors who contribute extraordinary works of art, passionate bidders who compete to add the pieces to their collections, loyal volunteers who work the event each year, and sponsors whose support makes it all possible,” said the museum’s Executive Director, Ciro Galeno, Jr.

He added, “As we enter a new year which will mark the Noble Maritime Collection’s 40th anniversary, we are deeply grateful for the ongoing sentiment of community ownership of this museum.  It is what makes the Noble Art Auction meaningful to so many people and ensures its continued success. I think John Noble would appreciate the work that we do collectively in his name—celebrating New York’s working waterfront and preserving maritime history, including our landmarked building, for generations to come.”

Scott Van Campen, Executive Director of MakerSpace NYC, will return for his seventh year as auctioneer, joined by Mr. Galeno, who will present commentary on each piece of art and its artist.

The in-person event will begin at 6:30 PM with an open bar and a light supper.  Catering by Framboise, led by Chef Frank Puleo, will once again cater the event with cuisine inspired by the traditional Thanksgiving feast.

The art auction will start at 8 PM and will be simultaneously streamed on LiveAuctioneers.com for virtual bidding.

Major underwriting for the event has been generously provided by lead sponsor Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company, as well as other business and community supporters that can be viewed at noblemaritime.org/auction.

Tickets are $125 each, or $95 for museum members.  Reservations are required.  Those who wish to participate on LiveAuctioneers can make a free account to register for the Noble auction.  LiveAuctioneers registrations will be accepted through the day of the event on November 14.

To purchase tickets, view the art, and learn about live online bidding via LiveAuctioneers, visit noblemaritime.org/auction.

The auction art is currently being exhibited in the museum’s second floor library and features 44 lots. 

There are three lithographs by Noble, including Cape Horner from 1955, which has never before been offered in the museum’s auction.  The others are Dying in the English Kills from 1966 and Iron Pirate from 1979.

The limited edition print New York East River by the museum’s late trustee and noted maritime artist John Stobart (1929-2023) will likely spark lots of competitive bidding. 

Additionally, there is a selection of prints by Herman Rose (1909-2007), Anton Seder (1850-1916), Philip Steinman (1924-2006), and Rudolf Veit (1892-1979)

Contemporary artists who have contributed prints to the auction or are represented include Staten Islanders Ann Marie McDonnell and Colman Rutkin, as well as William Behnken, Colleen Pike Blair, Diego Briceno, Ann Chernow, Martha Ives, Andrea Kornbluth, Tomomi Ono, Sachin Pannuri, Yakub Shalmiyev, Ellen Nathan Singer, and Annamarie Trombetta.  The selection includes lithographs, aquatints, etchings, giclées, and linocuts.

John Spinks, a new artist to the auction, donated a collage combining text and imagery related to the Titanic.

Kathy Noble, the daughter-in-law of the museum’s namesake John A. Noble, donated a pen and ink abstract drawing of trees by her twin sister Margaret Carr (1945-2025) to this year’s event, while local artist and auction committee member Elle Finn also donated a pen, ink, and metallics drawing of a butterfly.

Bill Murphy, Near Harpersfield, Watercolor, 2024, 14 ½” x 19”, Framing donated by the artist

A watercolor by Bill Murphy of a barn near Harpersfield, New York will be on offer.  Murphy’s 50-year retrospective exhibition Waterfront Tales is currently on view at the museum, and will be until January 18, 2026.

Additionally available are paintings in various mediums by Lillian Chestney (1913-2000), featuring the door to a Victorian captain’s house in Nova Scotia, and Richard Dey de Ribcowsky (1880-1946), featuring the coast of Maine.  There are also paintings by Staten Islanders including Anthony Butera (1940-2021), Linda Butti, Paul Landgraf, Halina McCormack, and Frederick Joseph Sklenar (1938-2024).

The auction includes photographs by Eric Holmes (1960-2014) and John Sanderson, as well as noted Staten Island photographers Bill Higgins, Michael McWeeney, Len Rachlin, Vincent Verdi, and J. Michael Verhey.

Trustee Eileen Montanez donated a reproduction of a vintage poster from 1937 promoting the first United States Foreign Trade Zone which opened on Staten Island that year.  Also on offer are two photographs by an unknown photographer featuring trees seen on the West Coast of the United States.

Scott Van Campen, Sailors’ Knife, Hand-forged 120-layer Damascus steel featuring a handle of reclaimed heart pine salvaged from a beam removed during the renovation of the 1840-built Noble Maritime Collection, 2025

Some especially unique objects in the Noble Art Auction include Carey Boone Nelson’s (1923-2021) cast stone sculpture Habille Commence; a handcrafted crofter’s bench by woodworker Roger Sherry using old growth oak reclaimed from a venerable Virginia estate; and a hand-forged, 120-layer Damascus steel sailors’ knife created by auctioneer Scott Van Campen, featuring a handle made from reclaimed heart pine from historic Building D, the museum’s home.

Funds from a special paddle raise conducted in the middle of the event by Director of Programs Dawn Daniels will directly support the museum’s presentation of the new, ethnomusicology-based education program Musical Voyage Around the World to students at PS 59 and PS 373 on Staten Island.

Winning bidders through LiveAuctioneers can pick up their purchases at the museum beginning on Tuesday, November 18.

Shipping is available directly through LiveAuctioneers or through the museum’s partner, Postal Connections, 1365 N. Railroad Avenue, Staten Island.  Interested bidders can get a quote before bidding and arrange for shipping by contacting them at (718) 980-2000 or postalconnections210@yahoo.com.

The Noble Maritime Collection is located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York.

The museum is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 12 until 5 PM, during which time the auction preview exhibition can be viewed.  Admission to the museum during regular gallery hours is by donation.

To learn more about this unique maritime museum, or for more information about the auction, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

Mayor Adams, DCLA announce biggest expansion of City's Cultural Institutions Group in five decades

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2025 
CONTACT: pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov, (212) 788-2958  

MAYOR ADAMS, DLCA ANNOUNCE BIGGEST EXPANSION OF
CITY’S CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS GROUP IN FIVE DECADES

Five New Cultural Organizations Will Join Cultural Institutions Group,
Members of Cultural Institutions Group Receive Long-term Support From City,
Provide Accessible, Affordable Programming for All New Yorkers

Largest Expansion of Cultural Institutions Group Since 1970s,
Expands Cultural Institutions Group in Every Borough

Announcement Fulfills Key Commitment From Mayor Adams’ 2025 State of the City Address

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Laurie Cumbo today announced five new members of the city’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), the largest expansion of the CIG in nearly five decades, as he delivered on another promise made in his 2025 State of the City address. CIG members — which operate on city-owned property — receive substantial subsidies and capital investment from the city; in return for this support, they provide cultural programming for all New Yorkers. With these five new institutions — BRIC, the Bronx Children’s Museum, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Noble Maritime Collection, and Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT) — there are now 39 members of the CIG in total. At a moment when many cultural organizations across the country are facing steep challenges, the historic expansion announced today will provide long-term, stable support for the city’s cultural sector, make sure the CIG is more reflective of the city it serves, and help more cultural organizations provide free and affordable programming for families to enjoy.

“When it comes to culture, there’s nowhere like New York. From iconic museums to legendary theaters, our city’s Cultural Institutions Group gives New Yorkers and tourists alike a safe, accessible place to spend time. With this historic expansion, we’ll help even more cultural organizations provide affordable programming for families, good-paying jobs for New Yorkers, and safe spaces for young people to learn and stay off the streets,” said Mayor Adams. “Crucially, we’ll make sure that our city’s Cultural Institutions Group reflects the rich diversity of our cultural sector and that every borough benefits from these investments.”

The CIG is one of the city’s strongest and longest-lasting public-private partnerships, made up of museums, historical societies, performing arts centers, botanic gardens, and zoos on city-owned property. Originally established in 1869 with the American Museum of Natural History, the CIG has grown sporadically over the years, notably with a concerted push by advocates and activists to expand the CIG in the 1960s and 1970s to create a more diverse cultural network. The last new CIGs added were the Weeksville Heritage Center in 2019 and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 1997. As part of his 2025 State of the City address, Mayor Adams committed to adding up to five additional organizations to the CIG network; today’s announcement fulfills that key commitment.

The five new CIG members announced today — one in each borough — have a range of disciplines and missions rooted in offering cultural enrichment and affordable programming for all New Yorkers: 

BRIC is one of Brooklyn’s leading arts and media institutions. With roots tracing back to the launch of Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park in 1979, BRIC now serves over 130,000 people annually. As Brooklyn’s Public Access Center, BRIC’s ‘Brooklyn Free Speech’ champions creative access for all communities. Its programming encompasses visual art exhibitions, performing arts events, artist residencies, youth and media education, and the Emmy award-winning BRIC TV. From its Downtown Brooklyn headquarters and partnerships with over 40 schools and local institutions, BRIC continues to shape the city’s cultural landscape. With BRIC’s CIG designation, BRIC will be able to expand free and low-cost media classes, increase public access to their facilities, and ensure that BRIC is able to present world-class performances and events that are free and accessible to all.

Bronx Children’s Museum has proudly served more than 325,000 children and families since its opening in 2005, providing New Yorkers with a place for young people and caregivers to explore, imagine, and learn together through immersive science, technology, engineering, mathematic, and artistic experiences. With this designation, the Bronx Children’s Museum will be able to expand hours of operation, increase organizational capacity, sustain affordable access for families and school groups, and help secure the organization’s long-term stability.

Louis Armstrong House Museum is a national and New York landmark celebrating the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong, a founding figure of jazz and America’s first Black popular music icon. Anchored by the Queens home where Armstrong and his wife lived for three decades, the museum is now a three-building campus that includes a 75-seat performance space, a multimedia exhibition, and a 60,000-piece archive — the largest of any single jazz musician in the world. The new Louis Armstrong Center, a state-of-the-art building that opened in July 2023, marks the museum’s physical and programmatic expansion into a creative incubator for artistic excellence and has allowed the museum to dramatically expand programs that honor Armstrong’s legacy and promote excellence, education, and community.

Noble Maritime Collection is an art and history museum located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island. Founded in 1986, the museum is dedicated to celebrating the working waterfront of New York Harbor and preserving Robbins Reef Lighthouse and the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor. The centerpiece of the museum is Noble’s restored houseboat studio, which is complemented by 11 permanent and changing exhibitions, arts education programs for schoolchildren, and diverse and vibrant public offerings. The museum maintains a pay-what-you-wish admission policy and recently expanded its hours to welcome more visitors year-round. With the museum’s CIG designation, the Noble Maritime Collection will be able to continue its admission-by-donation policy, sustain its newly-expanded hours, invest in visitor services to help increase annual attendance by 30 percent, strengthen stewardship of the museum’s city-owned, landmark building, and hire more local teaching artists and work towards the goal of doubling the number of students it serves each year through innovative arts education programs — most of which are offered for free to underserved schools.

Pregones/PRTT is a multi-generational performing ensemble and multi-discipline arts presenter with venues in the South Bronx and Manhattan’s Theater District. Its mission is to champion a Puerto Rican/Latinx cultural legacy through the creation and performance of original plays and musicals; exchange and partnership with other artists; and engagement of diverse audiences. PRTT was founded in 1967 as one of the first bilingual theater companies in the country while Pregones Theater was founded in 1979 when a group of artists set out to create and tour new works in the style of Caribbean and Latin American colectivos, or performing ensembles. Following their merger in 2014, Pregones/PRTT today helps empower diverse artists and audiences to claim a place at the front of the American theater. Pregones/PRTT’s CIG designation will strengthen the organization’s ability to keep live theater and music bold, affordable, and welcoming — as well as to nurture new generations of artists whose stories and voices are vital to New York City’s cultural life. 

The five new CIGs are all located on city property and previously received annual support through DCLA’s Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grant program in addition to an energy subsidy. As a member of the CIG, each organization will now receive an annual operating subsidy in lieu of CDF grant. The five organizations were added following a rigorous analysis of operations, visitorship, and other factors completed by DCLA in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget.

“The CIG is a cornerstone of our city’s cultural community, and these new members give us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to foster greater equity in this important source of city support for the arts in all five boroughs,” said DCLA Commissioner Cumbo. “The city’s 150+ year relationship with the CIG has created cultural institutions that strengthen our communities, drive our economy, and connect with New Yorkers across the city. With this historic expansion of the CIG, we’re setting up these five new members — which span disciplines, geographies, and audiences — to grow their programs and serve as vital, sustainable hubs for culture and community for generations to come. This is a huge step toward making our city the best place to raise a family, to make experiencing our city’s cultural treasures more accessible than ever before, and creating a legacy for all New Yorkers we can be proud of.”

“The current 34 museums, gardens, and performing arts centers that make up the Cultural Institutions Group are thrilled to welcome five new organizations into our fold. The CIGs represent a unique and critical investment of the City of New York into the cultural sector, a sector that truly makes New York what it is...the greatest city in the world!” said Coco Killingsworth, chair, Cultural Institutions Group. “The investment in new CIGs, as well as a historic $75 million budget increase, with $45 million baselined, for the Department of Cultural Affairs, clearly shows that City Hall values, prioritizes, and supports arts and culture today, and for future generations.”

“Being welcomed into the New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group is a historic milestone for both the Bronx Children’s Museum and our borough,” said Denise Rosario Adusei, executive director, Bronx Children’s Museum. “This investment not only enhances New York City as a place to raise children but also pays tribute to the remarkable families who call the Bronx home.”

“The Noble Maritime Collection is a museum built by the community, for the community, and on behalf of all those who have rolled up their sleeves and lent a hand in pursuit of its mission over the past 40 years, we are deeply honored and grateful to have our hard work recognized with membership in the Cultural Institutions Group,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., executive director, Noble Maritime Collection.  “I thank Mayor Adams and Commissioner Cumbo for this extraordinary investment in the museum’s future. This partnership will expand public access to our unique museum on Staten Island, where visitors can see artist and sailor John A. Noble’s houseboat studio and experience exhibitions and programs that celebrate New York City’s maritime heritage.”

“As a member of the volunteer Noble Crew that undertook an adaptive reuse project to turn a former Sailors’ Snug Harbor dormitory into the Noble Maritime Collection’s home in the 1990s, I especially appreciate that being a part of the Cultural Institutions Group will provide the museum with stable funds to help maintain its beautifully restored landmark building,” said Steve Kalil, chairman, Noble Maritime Museum Board; president, Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company. “We are proud to join our fellow Snug Harbor campus neighbors as members of the Cultural Institutions Group — including the Staten Island Children’s Museum, Staten Island Museum, and Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden — and look forward to continue collaborating with them to bring audiences to our extraordinary campus from across the city and beyond.

“Joining the CIG is a historic milestone for BRIC. It recognizes us among the institutions that have shaped New York City’s cultural legacy,” said Wes Jackson, president, BRIC. “For Brooklyn, it means greater investment in our creative future. For the city, it brings something new — a media and cultural partner grounded in community and innovation.”

“This milestone secures a bright future for Pregones/PRTT and strengthens our ability to serve the diverse communities of the Bronx, Manhattan, and beyond,” said Arnaldo J. López, Ph.D., managing director, Pregones/PRTT. “It is a powerful vote of confidence in our mission, ensuring that we can keep our doors open wide, welcome audiences of all backgrounds, and champion accessible, affordable, and extraordinary live arts for all New Yorkers.”

“We are thrilled and deeply honored to join the city’s Cultural Institutions Group. This historic recognition affirms decades of artistic invention, cultural pride, and community building by our ensemble and by so many who came before us,” said Rosalba Rolón, artistic director, Pregones/PRTT. “It is also a promise to future generations: that the stories, music, and traditions of Puerto Rican and Latinx communities will always have a home in New York City.”

The city’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Adopted Budget — which builds on the Adams administration’s FY 2026 Executive Budget — often called the “Best Budget Ever” and which passed unanimously by the New York City Council earlier this year — invests a record $299.6 million in DCLA, including a permanent funding increase of $45 million. That long-term, or baseline, funding increase — the first substantial baseline funding increase for DCLA in over a decade — was originally announced as part of Mayor Adams’ Best Budget Ever in May and included in the final, adopted budget as well. The FY 2026 Adopted Budget also invests an additional $30 million into DCLA, bringing the total new investment in the agency to $75 million this fiscal year alone. The additional funding will bolster the CDF, which supports more than 1,000 cultural organizations and neighborhood-based groups citywide, as well as CIG members. Collectively, these investments help bolster the city’s cultural sector, attract tourists, and fulfill the Adams administration’s commitment to make New York City the best place to raise a family.

Mayor Adams Best Budget Ever also includes $3.1 billion for cultural institutions and libraries through the 10-Year Capital Plan. The Adams administration has prioritized supporting cultural institutions across the five boroughs by, among other things, breaking ground on renovations, expansions, and other city-supported capital projects at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, The Bronx Museum, the  Nuyorican Poets Café, the Weeksville Heritage Center, and more in 2024. Additionally, last year, the Adams administration announced more than $52 million in grants for 1,031 cultural organizations through its annual CDF grant making program and diverted over 5.9 million pounds of materials from landfills, making them available to educators, nonprofits, and artists through its Materials for the Arts program free of charge. 

The passing of John Noble, son of the museum's namesake

Artist John A. Noble and his son John on the Staten Island Ferry in 1951

John Noble, the oldest son of the late Staten Island maritime artist John A Noble, passed away on July 11, 2025 at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. while undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 85.

John, who was known to his family and close friends as Buff, grew up on Richmond Terrace in St. George and graduated from Curtis High School in 1956 and Staten Island Academy in 1957. The early years were difficult growing up in a poor, struggling artist’s household. He always had to work hard as a young man to help support the family, holding such jobs as a golf caddy at La Tourette Golf Course, pushing a hand truck in New York’s famous garment district, working in a carnival in Florida, and delivering bread and baked goods for Dugan Brothers in the Catskills.

Following high school, with no funds to get to college, he hitchhiked with a suitcase and typewriter in hand to Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, where he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in 1961. Upon graduating from college, John enlisted in the U.S. Army where he rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Intelligence Corp. While stationed at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, he met Carol Souder, whom he married in 1963.

Following his discharge from the Army, he attended George Washington University Law School at night, and earned his juris doctor degree in 1969 and joined the Maryland Bar in 1970. He practiced law in Rockville, Maryland and eventually formed the firm of Noble and Crow. Although he had a general practice, he concentrated on trial work, Worker's Compensation, and probate. Despite his difficult battle with cancer in recent years, he remained stoic and continued to service clients and was practicing until the time of his death.

John—along with his younger brother, Allan—was a long-time supporter of the Noble Maritime Collection, the Staten Island museum named for their father. John and Allan’s donation of their father's art, personal effects, and his famous houseboat studio established the core collection of the museum, which was founded in the former Noble family home in St. George before relocating to Snug Harbor Cultural Center in 1992. John attended practically every one of the museum’s art auction fundraisers, which have been held annually since 1988, and only missed last year because of health issues. These same health issues kept him from attending the successful opening of the John A. Noble exhibition at the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo in April. John and Allan took their father’s famous Chesapeake Bay racing log canoe, Flying Cloud, back to the Chesapeake Bay in the 1970s and restored her and raced her there for many years.  A photograph of the brothers and their father in a rowboat on the Kill Van Kull, taken by the boys' mother Susan in 1948, is part of photographer Michael Falco's mural Where Marsh Meets the Sea installed in the St. George Ferry Terminal in 2007 and seen by millions of ferry riders each year.

Allan, John, and John A. Noble on a rowboat at Port Johnston on the Kill Van Kull, captured by Susan Noble in 1948 

John was a passionate long-distance runner, running his 50th marathon on his 50th birthday and continuing to run marathons and multiple 50-mile races after that. He ran in the first New York City marathon in 1977 and the Boston and Marine Corps marathons multiple times.

John’ wife Carol died in January 2020 and their daughter Anne Noble Eiseman died in December 2019. He is survived by his son John Timothy Noble, daughter-in-law Wendy Ouelette, son-in-law Eric Eiseman, grandsons Calvin, Max, and James, his brother Allan, and sister-in-law Kathy Noble.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 AM on Saturday, August 9, 2025 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4629 Aspen Hill Rd., Rockville, MD 20853. Please see colefuneral.com for the full obituary. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Noble Maritime Collection would be greatly appreciated.

The Noble Maritime Collection presents Bill Murphy: Waterfront Tales 1975-2025, a 50-year retrospective of the artist’s maritime work

The Noble Maritime Collection has staged a new exhibition called Bill Murphy: Waterfront Tales 1975-2025, a 50-year retrospective of the Staten Island artist’s explorations of the New York’s harbor, featuring four dozen works.

The museum hosted an opening reception on the evening of Thursday, July 17, attended by over 100 people.

Bill Murphy was born on Staten Island in 1952.  He recalls, “My mother tells me I drew a lot as a small child. My first real memory of drawing was in kindergarten, painting a picture of Zorro, a popular TV character at the time.” 

The artist continued, “A profound early influence on my way of thinking was the comic books of the 1960s, in particular the work of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, both drawing for Marvel Comics.  Later, the psychedelic poster art of the Fillmore East would form my early sense of design.”

Bill Murphy, John A. Noble, charcoal on grey toned paper, 1982, Collection of Staten Island Museum

The work in this exhibition dates from shortly thereafter in 1975, and spans 50 years of Murphy’s explorations of the local waterfront, and includes drawings, etchings, lithographs, and paintings.  Murphy’s affinity for New York’s working waterfront and his penchant for printmaking put him in contact with artist and sailor John A. Noble (1913-1983), the museum’s namesake, who at that point was at the end of his life and career. 

“In retrospect, after five decades, Murphy’s body of work parallels Noble’s in its preservation of vestiges of New York City and its waterways which are forever changing with time, tides, and development,” commented the museum’s Executive Director Ciro Galeno, Jr.

The museum’s staff asked Murphy to write down his stories and memories about each piece of his work, and as the show’s title conveys, it is also a collection of waterfront tales shared via the exhibition labels. 

One of the earliest works in the exhibition is the 1977 etching Leaving the Island, which presents the perspective of rider on the Staten Island Ferry as it disembarks from the St. George terminal.  About this piece, Murphy notes, “I was well into my 40s when the concept finally hit me that I was an island dweller, and being such, I am inherently different than probably 99% of the rest of the world.  Growing up on Staten Island, I accepted all the oddities of Island life as natural, so the idea of being an ‘Islander’ never registered with me.  Eventually I became aware that the ramifications of living in such a clearly delineated area and the necessity of having a bridge or ferry to travel on must carry a psychological weight with it.  I think this is a factor in making Staten Island such a political and cultural oddity.”

Of his 2002 etching, Oh! Gowanus!, Murphy recalls his first visit to the Brooklyn canal:  “I had been to the Gowanus once before, in the early 90s to make an etching.  John Noble was the one who first told me to go there. ‘Don’t go to Europe, Murphy, go to the Gowanus Canal,’ he implored when I told him I wanted to go on a drawing tour of France and England.  And he was right—it was and still is a visual treat for an artist who likes the old, industrial world.”

The artist will also share more of these stories in person at a gallery talk on Sunday, September 14 at 2 PM.

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Murphy is considered one of Staten Island’s most renowned artists.  He received his MFA from Vermont College, and also studied at the Art Students League of New York and the Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. He was a Professor of Visual Arts at Wagner College from 1984 through 2019, and was Chairperson of the Art Department from 1998 to 2003.  He currently teaches drawing at the Art Students League of New York.

Entrance to the long-term exhibition is included with pay-what-you-wish admission during regular museum hours, Wednesday through Sunday 12 to 5 PM, with extended hours to 6 PM on Thursdays in July and August 2025.  Last admittance is 15 minutes prior to closing. 

The Noble Maritime Collection is located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island’s North Shore.  Take the S40 bus from the St. George Ferry Terminal to Snug Harbor Gate or the S44 to Henderson Avenue/Devon Avenue or Kissel Avenue.

Bill Murphy: Waterfront Tales 1975-2025 was curated by Ciro Galeno, Jr. and Megan Beck, with exhibition design by Michael McWeeney and special thanks to Kathy Cracchiolo.

This exhibition was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation.

Noble Exhibit Opens at the Norwegian Maritime Museum

This spring, the Norwegian Maritime Museum opened John A. Noble: New York in Stone and Saltwater, an exhibition of Noble lithographs in the collection of Matthew Goodheart, a supporter of the Noble Maritime Collection who lives in Norway. John Noble’s son Allan attended the opening reception, along with Allan’s wife Kathy, his son Matt, and his nephew John Timothy. Allan wrote this article about the experience.

by Allan Noble

From left to right: Matt Noble, John Timothy Noble, Allan Noble, Kathy Noble, and Matthew Goodheart

On April 3, my wife Kathy, our son Matt and my brother’s son John Timothy had the privilege of attending the grand opening of a major exhibit of 36 lithographs by John A. Noble at the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo, Norway. These lithographs are from the private collection of Matthew Goodheart. Matthew and his wife Kersti Kelder live in Norway, about an hour north of Oslo, and they very kindly hosted us and drove us back and forth to the city during our visit. Matthew, along with the staff of the museum, including Director Elisabeth Koren, Curator Eyvind Bagle, and with backup from Ciro and Megan of the Noble Maritime Collection, worked very hard to put this show together—and it’s a great success! Reports are that the show has been very well received by the public in Norway since its opening, which is very gratifying and rewarding!

The Norwegian Maritime Museum is a world class museum located on the Museum Peninsula of Oslo. This is a beautiful part of Oslo, which includes a number of museums, including the Norwegian Folk Museum and the Kon-Tiki Museum.

You might wonder what the connection is between John Noble and Norway. When my father first went to sea on American four masted schooners he crewed with many Norwegian sailors, and was taught seamanship skills by them. He also became very familiar with Norwegian carpenters who formed the backbone of building many of the wooden schooners that he sailed on and drew. He especially admired “Mandal Charlie” (whose real name was Charles Gabrielson) a shipmate of his on the Annie C. Ross, and who is depicted in many of his lithographs, including Soul of Sail. Growing up, I was regaled with many tales about the heroics of Mandal Charlie, who “…could do the work of two men”. In some small way, my father  passed on many of these skills to me. My father emphasized his bonds with Norway in his writing about Sailor Snug Harbor and this is beautifully captured in Erin Urban's book Hulls and Hulks in the Tide of Time. Also, for years he sold his lithographs through a gallery in Mandal, Norway, a town on Norway’s southern coast that sent many sailors to sea.

Photograph by Beate Kjørslevik, the Noble Trio performing at the opening reception

The opening was a beautiful affair attended by over 75 folks who enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere, good music provided by a trio named the Noble Trio (for the evening) wine, champagne, appetizers and gin, my father's favorite drink. They even allowed me to make some remarks about my father and the exhibition, and breaking with my father’s tradition of making a bad scene at any affair where he was being honored, I handled it with dignity, or so I’m told. I have attended many openings of my father's work, and this was one of the finest in my memory. Everything was professionally and creatively done. The Museum captured the essence of my father's work and with great innovation separated the work into four categories:New York Harbor, Sailing, Industrial and Graveyard/Wrecks. The hanging was perfect and flowed beautifully, and the excellent lighting was accentuated by black walls, which made a very powerful statement. There is also a large painted floor map of New York Harbor in the middle of the exhibition room, which helps viewers locate some of the scenes depicted in his lithographs.

The flyer for the show contains a great quote from my father: “I love the truth more than applause.” Curator Eyvind Bagle told us that the words spoke to him, and I feel that the quote is quite relevant in today’s world.

The show runs through October 26, 2025. I know it's a long trip, but Norway is a beautiful country with wonderful people and is worth the effort to get there, and the staff of the museum and Matthew and Kersti would be very welcoming.

Photograph by Beate Kjørslevik, Norwegian Maritime Museum Curator Eyvind Bagle points to a map of New York Harbor

The Noble Maritime Collection presents We Who Are Weary, a new exhibition of Sailors’ Snug Harbor history

The Noble Maritime Collection has staged a new exhibition called We Who Are Weary about untold stories in Sailors’ Snug Harbor history.

The museum will host an opening reception on Thursday, May 29, 2025 from 6 to 8 PM.  Reservations for the opening reception may be made in advance through Eventbrite at the suggested admission of $10.  Those wishing to contribute a different amount may do so at the door.

Presented under the recently restored trompe-l’oeil ceiling mural in the museum’s historic Writing Room, We Who Are Weary offers a fresh, people-focused perspective on the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor, the 19th-century retirement home for mariners. 

The displays will highlight daily life at Sailors’ Snug Harbor and include fascinating new research done by Curator Megan Beck into the lives of workers and residents of color, which includes Civil War veterans, immigrants, and a member of the Montauk Native American tribe. 

Snugs Relax on Benches along East Randall Way, photograph from The Illustrated American, June 18, 1892

“Sailors’ Snug Harbor was one of the earliest charitable institutions in this country.  I have always been drawn to the history of the home and admired the mission established by the will of founder Captain Robert Richard Randall in 1801,” said Ms. Beck.

She continued, “It was through the home’s administrative records that I was able to uncover information about what daily life was like for those who lived and worked at Sailors’ Snug Harbor, particularly for underrepresented populations, which has otherwise not been explored by previous examinations into the history.  In this way, We Who Are Weary begins to establish a more accurate historical narrative for the public.”

As part of an interdisciplinary, museum-education first for the Noble Maritime Collection, students at Columbia University assisted with research into several of the sailors highlighted in the exhibition as part of the course The Untold Stories in U.S. Health Policy History, under the guidance of museum trustee Heather M. Butts.  This work evolved into an ongoing partnership to continue to research the men who lived at the home. 

Sailors’ Snug Harbor, a retirement home for “aged, decrepit, and worn out seamen,” opened on Staten Island in 1833.  Over 10,000 men were cared for at Sailors’ Snug Harbor throughout its 143-year history on Staten Island.  Admitted sailors received complimentary room and board, medical care, and the companionship of their fellow seafarers as they lived out their retirements.

The focal point of the exhibition is a wall of photographs taken of the resident sailors upon admittance to the home by the Harbor administration between 1890 and 1910.  There are nearly four dozen portraits on display, which show the diversity of the men who found refuge at the retirement home.

William Blythe (1849-1918)

Henry Green (1826-1910)

William Holden (1829-1906)

“John Noble, the museum’s namesake, famously decried the burial of residents of Sailors’ Snug Harbor by their admission number in his drawing Captain Randall, His Vandals.  That is why it is so appropriate that this exhibition seeks to connect the modern viewer with the faces and names of the men who lived here a century ago through these administrative photographs,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection.

He continued, “The sailors’ faces are compelling, and each one uniquely conveys the hardship of their life working at sea, and perhaps even a sense of relief at the care they were receiving at the venerable retirement home.”  

The exhibition also includes Sailors’ Snug Harbor artifacts, including a headboard and tiles from the onsite hospital, and objects from the collection of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor Trust, including a maritime painting by a local 19th-century New Brighton artist and a cribbage board and macramé bag made by residents of the Harbor.

The Victorian-era trompe-l'œil ceiling mural in the Writing Room depicts perpetual blue skies and tropical palms that would have been familiar to sailors who occupied the building.  The Versailles-Giverny Foundation underwrote the restoration of the mural in 2023.  The project was graciously facilitated by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the hand-painted replica is the work of talented artists from EverGreene Architectural Arts.

Entrance to the long-term exhibition is included with pay-what-you-wish admission during regular museum hours, Wednesday through Sunday 12 PM to 5 PM, with extended hours to 6 PM on Thursdays in July and August 2025.  Last admittance is 15 minutes prior to closing. 

The Noble Maritime Collection is located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island’s North Shore.  Take the S40 bus from the St. George Ferry Terminal to Snug Harbor Gate or the S44 to Henderson Avenue/Devon Avenue or Kissel Avenue.

We Who Are Weary was curated by Megan Beck and Michael McWeeney, with curatorial and research assistance by Alexandra Cole, Ewan Shannon, and Professor Heather M. Butts and her students at Columbia University, Chandrima Doley and Natassia Walker.

This exhibition was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; the State of New York and the National Maritime Heritage Grants Program, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior; and the TK Foundation Spirit Fund.  (Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the State of New York or Department of the Interior.)

Windows of the Sea exhibition unveiled at PS 52

Yesterday, the Noble Maritime Collection unveiled "Windows of the Sea," an exhibition of maritime art created by students at PS 52 during a Cultural After School Adventures program generously funded by Council Member David Carr. It showcases the work of fourth and fifth graders who made three-dimensional portholes encapsulating watercolor seascapes. Each student learned about objects that sailors view through the portholes on their ships such as lighthouses, buoys, the sun on the horizon, and other boats. This inspired them to construct their own unique window paintings and write stories that accompany the art. The project was designed and taught by visual artist Mona Oman, who worked with the students in February and March of 2025. The staff of the Noble Maritime Collection and PS 52 partnered to accomplish this exhibition of student work that taught memorable lessons about life on a ship, the working waterfront, and navigation.

This CASA program was supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and District 50 Council Member David Carr.

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The Noble Maritime Collection unveils a seven-foot model of the RMS Titanic, a recent donation to the museum’s collection

Earlier this holiday season, the Noble Maritime Collection hosted schoolchildren from PS 59, The Harborview School, to unveil a seven-foot model of the RMS Titanic in the museum’s Navigation Classroom.

The large-scale, handmade model was recently donated to the museum by the family of Peter P. Blanchard III (1951-2022), the great-grandson of Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), whose home and art collection comprise The Frick Collection art museum in Manhattan. 

Blanchard was a noted supporter of environmental conservation and the arts, serving on the board of the Frick Collection for over two decades.  His wife Sofia and son Theo chose to give the Titanic model to the Noble Maritime Collection in his memory.

His great-grandfather Henry Clay Frick also had a connection to the Titanic.  He and his wife Adelaide had tickets for the ocean liners’ maiden voyage across the Atlantic in April 1912, but cancelled their trip after Adelaide sprained her ankle in Italy, thus missing the ill-fated voyage. 

Third and fourth graders from PS 59 officially unveiled the model on Friday, November 22, making them the first schoolchildren to observe the model in its new home.

The Noble Maritime Collection’s Executive Director Ciro Galeno, Jr. and Director of Programs Dawn Daniels speak to third and fourth grade students from PS 59, The Harborview School, before the children unveiled the model; photography by CJ Nye.

The staff of the Noble Maritime Collection and members of the board of trustees also participated in the unveiling.

The museum’s Director of Programs Dawn Daniels read an excerpt from Rescuing Titanic by Flora Delargy, a children’s book about the ship.  Mrs. Daniels also asked the students to share their own thoughts about the Titanic, all of whom had heard about the ship and were excited to see the enormous model.

“The story of the Titanic is one of the most widely known in maritime history, and while it has no strong connection to artist John A. Noble and Sailors’ Snug Harbor, which are the museum’s focus, had she not met with disaster, she would have sailed through the Narrows past Staten Island many times during a transatlantic career, as did her nearly identical sister ship, the RMS Olympic,” commented the museum’s Executive Director Ciro Galeno, Jr.

He continued, “Visiting schoolchildren almost always ask what we have on display related to the Titanic, and that is why we were so excited and grateful to be approached by the Blanchard family for this special gift, which will be appreciated by museumgoers of all ages, for many years to come.”

The model is a fitting addition to the Noble Maritime Collection’s Maurice K. Shaw Navigation Classroom, which displays a variety of antique navigational equipment and includes a tugboat wheelhouse replica.  The room serves to teach visitors and schoolchildren alike about how sailors navigated the sea before modern GPS.

The Titanic model installed in the Noble Maritime Collection’s Navigation Classroom; photograph courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection.

The RMS Titanic is one of the most famous ships of all time.  Launched in 1911, she was considered to be the largest, most luxurious ship in the world and was thought to be unsinkable.  Yet, on her maiden voyage from England to New York in April 1912, she struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic.  Over 1,500 people died when the ship sank because there were not enough lifeboats for all of the passengers on board. 

The model will be a permanent feature in the Navigation Classroom, and can be seen during public hours.

The Noble Maritime Collection, located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York, is open from 12 until 5 PM, Thursdays through Sundays.  Admission is by donation.

For more information, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

A letter from the director on Giving Tuesday

Dear friends,

Today is Giving Tuesday, a global initiative to support non-profits.  The Noble Maritime Collection is a non-profit museum created by the community, for the community.  Small donations have always sustained us, so please know that we will put your gift of any size to the best possible use. 

Our budget has been tight over the past year, but nonetheless we have accomplished a lot:

• We served just over 18,000 people, inclusive of 5,000 schoolchildren of all ages and abilities.

• Following the tremendous success of the Maritime Careers of New York Harbor education program, museum Director of Programs Dawn Daniels has been working on a new ethnomusicology based program called Musical Voyage Around the World, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

• We presented two new exhibitions, including Noble Industrial, a first-of-its-kind exploration of artist and sailor John A. Noble’s relationship with New York harbor in the 20th century in which he lived and worked.  It will be on view through March 2.

Despite the museum's limited resources, we’re always looking to build upon the ways we educate and enrich the lives of our audience.  In 2025 we have three new exhibitions planned, which I look forward to telling you more about soon.  We work hard here, and I believe that our work is good work, rooted in our values to be kind, inclusive, share knowledge, and preserve history.  I also believe that goodness begets goodness, so please trust that if you donate today, it’s for a good cause and we will maximize every dollar to its full potential.

If you believe in the work we are doing and are in a position to make a donation to the museum this Giving Tuesday, we would be very grateful.  To make a gift in any amount, please click here.

Thank you, and we look forward to welcoming you to the museum this holiday season!

Warm regards,

Ciro Galeno, Jr.
Executive Director

PS - Please come to our annual holiday market, Culture Shop, this Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8 from 11 AM to 4 PM.  Click here for more information.

The Noble Maritime Collection will present its 36th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction fundraiser on Friday, November 15

The Noble Maritime Collection will host the 36th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction, a fundraiser for the museum on Friday, November 15.  The live auction at the museum will also be streamed on LiveAuctioneers, with a remote bidding option.

The auction is the Noble Maritime Collection’s only fundraising event of the year, and helps to cover up to 20% of the museum's annual budget, making possible exhibitions and free and low-cost public programs including arts education for children of all ages and abilities. 

This year’s lots include original lithographs by the museum’s namesake, John A. Noble (1913-1983); watercolor and oil paintings; work in a variety of mediums by noted local contemporary artists; and vintage prints by world-renowned artists such as John James Audubon (1785-1851).

“The Noble Art Auction would not be possible without the generosity of so many local contributors, including, but not limited to, the artists and collectors who donate one-of-a-kind pieces of art, the enthusiastic bidders who compete to acquire them, and the sponsors who help underwrite the event,” commented the museum’s Executive Director Ciro Galeno, Jr. 

He continued, “This broad level of community support is what makes the Noble Art Auction so special and drives its success.  Every dollar we raise goes to fulfilling the museum’s mission to educate the public about maritime history—inspired by Noble’s life and art—and to preserve our landmarked building.”

Scott Van Campen, Executive Director of MakerSpace NYC, will return for his sixth year as auctioneer, joined by Mr. Galeno, who will present commentary on each piece of art and its artist.

The in-person event will begin at 6:30 PM with an open bar and a light supper.  Catering by Framboise, led by Chef Frank Puleo, will once again cater the event with cuisine inspired by the Amalfi coast of Italy.

The art auction will start at 8 PM and will be simultaneously streamed on LiveAuctioneers.com for virtual bidding.

Major underwriting for the event has been generously provided by Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company, Donjon Marine Company, MCM Forest Products, and Atlantic Salt, as well as other business and community supporters that can be viewed at noblemaritime.org/auction.

Tickets are $125 each, or $90 for museum members.  Reservations are required.  Those who wish to participate on LiveAuctioneers can make a free account to register for the Noble auction.  LiveAuctioneers registrations will be accepted through the day of the event on November 15.

To purchase tickets, view the art, and learn about live online bidding via LiveAuctioneers, visit noblemaritime.org/auction.

The auction art is currently being exhibited in the museum’s second floor library and features 45 lots, including antique and contemporary paintings, prints, photographs, and unique objects. 

There are three lithographs by Noble, including Mortara Genova from 1948, which has never before been offered in the museum’s auction.  The others are The Florida, 1892-1947 from 1964 and Man, Moon, and Bowsprit from 1961.

J.J. Audubon (1785-1851), Carolina Parrot—Psittacus Caolinensis, Published by The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, deeptone offset print, 1948, 19" x 13 ¾", Donated by Nancy Fiske (1955-2024)            

There are also rare and antique prints available.  Included are Carolina Parrot by John James Audubon (1785-1851), published in 1948, depicting the colorful, extinct parakeet that was native to the US; and The Landing of Captain Cook at Tanna by William Hodges (1744-1797), a copper engraving from 1777—the oldest pieces in the auction.

The limited edition print New York: The Foot of South Street in 1876 by the museum’s late trustee and noted maritime artist John Stobart (1929-2023) will likely spark lots of competitive bidding.  There is also a limited edition print available by Thomas Maclay Hoyne III (1924-1989), a noted 20th century maritime artist, donated by Roger Sherry in memory of his late sister, Virginia Sherry.

Additionally there is a selection of fine art prints by Staten Island artist Ferdinand A. Busing (1876-1961), depicting a South Shore maritime scene, and Herman Rose (1909-2007), depicting the New Jersey waterfront as viewed from the Hudson River during the last century.

Contemporary artists who have contributed prints to the auction or are represented include Staten Islanders Jamie Brant, Bill Murphy, and Sarah Yuster, as well as William Behnken, Colleen Pike Blair, Diego Briceno, Miriam Quen Cheikin, Martha Ives, Andrea Kornbluth, Patricia Langer, Sachin Pannuri, Francesca, D’Atria Romano, Yakub Shalmiyev, and Ellen Nathan Singer.  The selection includes lithographs, aquatints, engravings, etchings, giclées, linocuts, and woodcuts.

An acrylic painting by Robert Padovano of the Washington Square arch was recently featured in the museum’s 2024 exhibition The Sea, the City, and the Golden Hour: Impressionist Maritime and Urban Landscapes by Robert Padovano.

Anthony Butera (1940-2021), Rooftops, North Shore, oil on canvas, 2014, 24 ¼" x 36", Donated by Susan Ledwith

Additionally available are paintings in various mediums by Griselda Healy, Eric Kahn, Sarah Rakes, Dennis Joseph Yanoski, and Stanley M. Zuckerberg (1919-1995), as well as Staten Islanders Anthony Butera (1940-2021), Kathy Fieramosca, Dr. Helena Gottlieb, Halina McCormack, and Bill Murphy.

The auction includes photographs by Eric Holmes (1960-2014) and Bo Kass (1938-2020), as well as noted Staten Island photographers Bill Higgins and Michael McWeeney.

Local artist and auction committee member Elle Finn donated an embossed pen-and-ink drawing, and also available is an ink drawing of a sphinx and a winged woman by Edson Campos, who is known primarily for his photorealistic paintings.

Some especially unique objects in the Noble Art Auction include Sage Reynolds’ Aurora Blue, a tapestry made out of hand-painted paper; a cubist terracotta sculpture by Staten Island philanthropist Jean Roland (1924-2024); an antique glass sculpture of a female torso by Eleon Von Rommel (1894-1974); and a one-of-a-kind coat created circa 1985 by Barbara Register of Mood Swings, a Staten Island vintage shop.

For the first time, the museum will also host a silent auction for the chance to win a portrait session with Bradford Portraits in New York City.  This photo session includes a stay at a luxury hotel.

Funds from the silent auction will directly support the museum’s work with PS 373, which will additionally be supported by funds raised during a paddle raise in the middle of the event hosted by Director of Programs Dawn Daniels.

Winning bidders through LiveAuctioneers can pick up their purchases at the museum beginning on Tuesday, November 19.

Shipping is available directly through LiveAuctioneers or through the museum’s partner, Postal Connections, 1365 N. Railroad Avenue, Staten Island.  Interested bidders can get a quote before bidding and arrange for shipping by contacting them at (718) 980-2000 or postalconnections210@yahoo.com.

The Noble Maritime Collection is located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York.

The museum is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 12 until 5 PM, during which time the auction preview exhibition can be viewed.  Admission to the museum during regular gallery hours is by donation.

To learn more about this unique maritime museum, or for more information about the auction, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

The Noble Maritime Collection adds Wednesdays to its summer schedule starting July 10

The Noble Maritime Collection, the unique art and history museum located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, is extending its gallery hours for the summer.  

For the first time, the museum will add Wednesdays to its schedule starting on July 10 through the end of August.  The expanded summer hours will be Wednesday through Sunday from 12 to 5 PM.

The museum offers a pay-what-you-wish admission policy in honor of its namesake, Staten Island artist and sailor John A. Noble (1913-1983), who believed in access to the arts for all.

“Summer has only just begun, and we have already seen an uptick in visitors from across the city, the nation, and the world,” noted the Noble Maritime Collection’s Executive Director Ciro Galeno, Jr.  “That is why we are so excited to be able to offer more time for people to discover the museum and all of its exhibitions, especially John Noble's charming houseboat studio.”

In addition to its permanent exhibitions that interpret New York's working waterfront and the history of Sailors' Snug Harbor, the 19th-century retirement home for mariners, the Noble Maritime Collection presents changing exhibitions, two of which are new for this summer.

John A. Noble (1913-1983), Candles of the Kill, oil on canvas, started c. 1953, reworked through 1965; collection of John and Allan Noble

Noble Industrial is a recently opened exhibition of nearly four-dozen of John Noble’s rarely seen lithographs, paintings, and drawings, all of which contextualize him within the 20th century in which he lived and worked as an artist and advocate for New York’s maritime industries.  Included in the exhibition is Candles of the Kill, a painting which depicts an oil refinery which once stood on the New Jersey side of the Kill Van Kull, opposite Snug Harbor.  Noble’s sons consider it amongst his finest works.

Robert Padovano, Sunset Haze, New York Harbor, Acrylic on canvas, 2024, 24” x 36”; courtesy of the artist

Also on view is The Sea, the City, & the Golden Hour: Impressionist Maritime and Urban Landscapes by Robert Padovano, a new and vibrant exhibition of over two-dozen paintings by the contemporary Staten Island artist.  Highlights include 12 new paintings that Padovano created, such as Sunset Haze, New York Harbor, a view of the sun rising over the East River which pays homage to Monet’s interpretations of the River Thames in London. 

The expansion of the Noble Maritime Collection’s gallery hours aligns the days in which the museum is open with other Snug Harbor Cultural Center attractions including the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden and the Staten Island Museum. 

“We are always looking for ways to work with our cultural colleagues to create an even better and more seamless visitor experience at Snug Harbor,” Mr. Galeno said.  “As the Noble museum has limited resources, we are grateful to our new volunteer docents for giving us their time so that we can be open to the public on Wednesdays this summer.”

The Noble Maritime Collection has a long history of community support, most especially from the Noble Crew, a volunteer corps which restored the museum’s landmarked building—a former sailors’ dormitory from 1844—throughout the 1990s. 

In addition to its volunteers and museum members, the Noble Maritime Collection is currently supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and City Council Members Joseph Borelli, David Carr, and Kamillah Hanks; Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella; and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.  It is additionally supported by grants from the Staten Island Foundation, Northfield Bank Foundation, and the New York City Tourism Foundation.

The Noble Maritime Collection is located in Building D at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York.

For more information, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

The Noble Maritime Collection presents the new exhibition The Sea, the City, & the Golden Hour: Impressionist Maritime and Urban Landscapes by Robert Padovano

The Noble Maritime Collection has staged a new exhibition called The Sea, the City, & the Golden Hour: Impressionist Maritime and Urban Landscapes by Robert Padovano.

The Sea, the City, & the Golden Hour features 25 works by Staten Island artist Robert Padovano, including 12 new paintings he created especially for the exhibition, which was guest-curated by the artist and his wife, Peggy. 

The museum will host an opening reception on Thursday, May 30, 2024 from 6 to 8 PM.

The exhibition will be on view throughout the summer at the museum at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, and will close on September 1, 2024.

In the tradition of the great Impressionist painters, Padovano is known for his ability to create luminosity on his canvases. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he is a self-taught painter who has drawn inspiration from urban landscapes throughout his life, and like the museum’s namesake, John A. Noble, he compels his audience to look upon New York City’s waterfront with a new perspective. 

Robert Padovano, Silvercup Sunset II, Acrylic on canvas, 2019, 22” x 28”; courtesy of the artist

“Much of my childhood was filled with memories of rooftop views of the city from the elevated trains, and sparkling panoramas of bridges lit up at night,” Padovano said.

The artist continued, “I find these subjects lend themselves beautifully to Impressionistic interpretation and they frequently make their way into my paintings.  The effect of changing light upon city streets and buildings is very compelling.”

Padovano has a long association with the Noble Maritime Collection, and three of his paintings are featured in the museum’s long-term exhibition, Robbins Reef Lighthouse: A Home in the Harbor, which opened in 2015.

Ciro Galeno, Jr., the museum’s Executive Director, commented, “Viewers of the lighthouse exhibition always remark on Padovano’s intense use of color and his ability to make the sun look like it is glowing on the canvas.  For that reason, some of his paintings remind me of the work of Noble’s father, the Post-Impressionist painter John ‘Wichita Bill’ Noble (1874-1934).  That, coupled with his affinity for painting local maritime scenes made hosting Padovano’s exhibition a good fit for the museum’s mission.”

Highlights of the exhibition include the new paintings Padovano created, such as Sunset Haze, New York Harbor, a view of the sun rising over the East River which pays homage to Monet’s interpretations of the River Thames in London.  

Other new works include the exhibition’s signature piece, Lower Manhattan, Golden Hour—a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and skyline.  It is being presented as a grouping with three other iconic New York City scenes—Lady Liberty, Crimson Sky, showing a Staten Island Ferry passing the Statue of Liberty; Best Friends, depicting a pair of tugboats; and Sakura Express, named for the cargo ship which is the painting’s subject.

Lower Manhattan, Golden Hour

Sakura Express

Lady Liberty, Crimson Sky

Best Friends

Paintings in the exhibition are as large as four feet wide, but Sister Golden Hair stands out as both the smallest (measuring 9 x 12 inches), and most intimate, as it depicts a quiet moment amongst passengers on the Staten Island Ferry.

The opening reception on Thursday, May 30 at 6 PM is a free event with museum admission, which is a non-compulsory donation in any amount that attendees opt to give.

For more information about attending the opening reception and the exhibition in general, visit noblemaritime.org/robert-padovano 

This exhibition was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation.

The Noble Maritime Collection, located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York, is open from 12 until 5 PM, Thursdays through Sundays.  Admission is by donation.

Robert Padovano, Sunset, Ft. Wadsworth Beach, Acrylic on canvas, 2024, 32” x 48,” Photo inspiration courtesy of Sean Sweeney; courtesy of the artist

The Noble Maritime Collection announces the appointment of Heather Butts and Joseph Torres to its Board of Trustees

The Noble Maritime Collection has announced the appointment of two community leaders to the museum’s Board of Trustees—Heather Butts and Joseph Torres. 

Both new trustees will serve a three-year term where they will support the museum’s mission to celebrate the working waterfront of New York Harbor in the tradition of John A. Noble (1913-1983) and to preserve the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor.  

“Professor Butts and Mr. Torres will bring new energy and ideas to the Noble Maritime Collection as our leadership continuously seeks to create enriching programming for the public in a welcoming space,” said the museum’s Chairman Steve Kalil, President of Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company on Staten Island’s North Shore.

Heather Butts
Heather Butts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.  She is also the Faculty Course Lead for the Leadership Course at the Mailman School of Public Health.  In addition, she holds appointments as an Adjunct Professor in Health Law and Bioethics at St. John’s School of Law and Long Island University Post.

Professor Butts is the co-founder and Executive Director of H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths, Inc. a nonprofit organization which focuses on college readiness and preparation.  Her organization partners with 90 programs each year to help more than 7,000 students achieve their dream of going to college. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, her organization worked on dozens of projects to help the community including turning little free libraries into food pantries; getting resources to under privileged families; organizing several community gardening programs to get fresh produce to those in need.

“I have admired the work of The Noble Maritime Collection for years.  I am proud and honored to be a new member of the Board of Trustees and look forward to contributing to the significant work of the museum,” said Professor Butts.

“Heather Butts is a tireless advocate for our community, and the Noble Maritime Collection’s trustees and I are so happy and grateful to have her energy on our team,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the museum.

He continued, “Our relationship with Heather began when she visited the museum and felt a connection to our hands-on work in service to the public, particularly through our education programs.  We look forward to deepening that work through the community connections she will foster within Staten Island and throughout the city.”  

Joseph Torres
Joseph Torres manages his wealth management practice at Merrill Lynch and serves as Vice Chairman of both the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and the Richmond University Medical Center Foundation.  He currently holds board leadership roles with Project Hospitality, The Richmond County Country Club, Staten Island Community Board 2, The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and The South Shore Rotary Club.

Additionally, Mr. Torres held directorships with Notre Dame Academy and The Giving Hope Network.  From 2015 to 2019, he served as Chairman of Richmond University Medical Center’s successful capital campaign to develop the new, state-of-the-art Emergency Department.

Mr. Torres commented, “I am most excited by the Noble Maritime Collection’s ongoing commitment to promoting cultural and educational equity through their maritime educational outreach initiative.  Introducing students within underserved communities to lucrative careers within maritime and related industries has a transformative and lasting impact where it matters most. As a longstanding supporter of this local cultural treasure, it is an honor to be invited to serve among Noble’s impassioned staff, trustees and benefactors.” 

“Joe has been a supporter of the Noble Maritime Collection for several years, and has always been generous with his financial advice and development recommendations, both of which have helped the museum maintain its modest, but always balanced budget, with which we put to the best possible use for the public good,” Mr. Galeno said.

Mr. Galeno added, “Joe will strengthen our team with his knowledge of fundraising and board management, as well as his dedication to fiscal responsibility and the creation of connections between businesses and non-profit organizations.”

The Noble Maritime Collection, located in a former sailors’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building D, Staten Island, is open year round, Thursday through Sunday from 12 until 5 PM.  Admission is always by donation.

The Noble Maritime Collection presents the new exhibition Noble Industrial

The Noble Maritime Collection has staged a new exhibition called Noble Industrial which features rarely seen lithographs, paintings, and drawings by John A. Noble (1913–1983).

Noble Industrial is the largest themed exhibition of the Staten Island artist and sailor’s work in recent years, featuring nearly four dozen pieces.

It will be on view at the museum at Snug Harbor Cultural Center through March 2, 2025.

While Noble is known for having chronicled the last days of the Age of Sail through his art—and the wrecks of those vessels that followed that era—he was also an advocate for the modern maritime industries that populated New York’s working waterfront in the 20th century. 

“My work, whatever may be its virtues or lack of virtues, is totally contemporary, based on drawings made outdoors.  I am an industrial printmaker...,” Noble wrote in 1977.

John A. Noble (1913-1983), Import, lithograph, edition 50, 1951; The Noble Maritime Collection, gift of the Noble Family

Noble Industrial, through the display of rarely seen work, contextualizes Noble and his relationship with industry within the century in which he lived and worked.  He produced a majority of the pieces in the exhibition by way of commissions, which he actively sought from large companies, particularly in the early 1950s. 

“These compositions demonstrate Noble’s dedication to accuracy and passion for preserving all aspects of New York City’s maritime history that he witnessed,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection.  “As a result, his oeuvre depicts as much steel as it does wood, as many diesel vessels as it does schooners, and as much active building as it does wrecks and decay.” 

Noble Industrial includes all of Noble’s industrial lithographs spanning his entire career, from Wrecking Scow, The Diver, which he created in 1946, through Tides of 100 Years, which he created in 1977 near the end of his life.

The exhibition also includes the rarely displayed Pipe Lithographs, a series of twelve lithographs commissioned by the US Pipe and Foundry Company in 1952 to illustrate a promotional calendar.

Also on display is the 1951 lithograph Bayonne Arabian Nights, which prominently features the former Houdry power plant in Bayonne, New Jersey, which was originally built and operated by the Tidewater Oil Company and later purchased by J. Paul Getty (1892-1976).

Noble wrote in 1976, “Here is a picture of Getty making his fortune—it shows the Houdry plant in Bayonne—the world’s largest oil refinery at the time.  I also did a picture of it in the process of being built and another showing its destruction.  In a way I was Getty’s poet laureate, but this is a secret carefully kept.”

John A. Noble (1913-1983), The Building of Tidewater, oil on canvas, c. 1937; The Noble Maritime Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold G. Tucker

Those other pictures that Noble mentioned are the paintings The Building of Tidewater (c. 1937), Candles of the Kill (c. 1953), and Death of Houdry (c. 1960), all of which are also on display.

Candles of the Kill was loaned to the Noble Maritime Collection expressly for the Noble Industrial exhibition by the artist’s sons, John and Allan Noble, who are enthusiastic about the exhibition’s concept. 

“It is stunning.  I think it’s one of his best paintings by far,” Allan Noble said about Candles of the Kill.  “We hope everyone enjoys it!”

Noble Industrial was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation.

The Noble Maritime Collection unveils restoration of 19th-century trompe-l’oeil ceiling mural, thanks to funding from the Versailles-Giverny Foundation

The Noble Maritime Collection has unveiled the restoration of a 19th-century ceiling mural in the museum’s Writing Room, a historic feature of the former Sailors’ Snug Harbor retirement home.

The Sailors’ Snug Harbor Reading Room in 1899, an amenity similar to the Writing Room, also with a ceiling mural.  (Photo by the Byron Company, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection)

The Victorian mural is hand painted in the trompe-l’oeil style, creating the optical illusion of a three-dimensional glasshouse roof with flora suggesting the South Seas, where many of the resident mariners had sailed.  The mural was originally commissioned by Sailors’ Snug Harbor around 1883 in celebration of the retirement home’s 50th anniversary. 

The restoration was necessary due to the collapse of part of the original, 176-year-old ceiling in 2020.

The project was funded by the Versailles-Giverny Foundation, facilitated by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and designed and executed by EverGreene Architectural Arts.

“We value historic preservation at the Noble Maritime Collection, and this project has been particularly meaningful for the staff and Board of Trustees as it ensures that this work of art can be appreciated for many generations to come,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., the museum’s executive director.   

The Noble Maritime Collection is known for the grassroots adaptive reuse project led by the volunteer Noble Crew during the 1990s, which rehabilitated the National Historic Landmark Building D, a former Sailors’ Snug Harbor dormitory from 1844, and turned it into the museum’s new home. 

The Writing Room was a large, sunlit common area on the first floor, just next to the front entrance, where sailors once gathered to write correspondence.  While restoring the room thirty years ago, the Noble Crew discovered, under decades of paint layers and plaster patches, the glasshouse ceiling mural, and its restoration was a crowning achievement of the rehabilitation of Building D.

The Writing Room ceiling partially collapsed, with pieces of plaster on the floor, in July 2020 (Photo by Ciro Galeno, Jr., courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection)

Unfortunately, in July 2020 during a thunderstorm, a portion of the ceiling collapsed.  With a generous emergency grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the museum engaged restoration firm EverGreene Architectural Arts to assess the condition of the ceiling. 

EverGreene’s conservators and preservationists determined that deterioration of the plaster and failure of plaster keys among other factors lead to the collapse of the ceiling that was built in the 1840s.  The existing ceiling framing was no longer sound and also needed to be replaced. 

In 2021, prior to replacing the ceiling, EverGreene conservators documented the mural, which included a full photogrammetric digital scan and a historic paint analysis, so that one day it could be restored. 

The museum then contracted the Staten Island firm Simply Built to remove the original ceiling and put up a new one that was finished to EverGreene’s specifications—should the museum one day raise enough money to have the mural restored. 

With great skill, Matthew Poritz of Simply Built was able to salvage the room’s original plaster crown molding from the 1840s.

In the late winter of 2023, representatives from the Conservancy visited the museum and inquired about the status of the Writing Room ceiling mural restoration project. 

The Conservancy offered to connect the museum with The Versailles-Giverny Foundation, which after a site visit from its President Barbara de Portago and Chargé d’Affaires Anthony Rhodes, generously offered to underwrite the mural restoration, to be facilitated by the Conservancy. 

Designs and hand-painted panels for the restoration of the Writing Room ceiling mural in EverGreene Architectural Arts’ Brooklyn studio in August 2023.  (Photo by Ciro Galeno, Jr., courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection)

EverGreene’s Design Studio prepared the design documents to recreate the original mural using the information from the original mural design, color palette, and hand-painting techniques from the conservation report completed in 2021.

Salvaged fragments of the original mural also informed the hand-painting techniques so EverGreene’s artists could create prototypes to build out this large-scale recreation.

EverGreene’s artists then hand-painted the design onto archival-quality canvas in their Brooklyn Studio, first completing a mock-up that was reviewed and approved by the Noble Maritime Collection.

Once the mural was completed and approved, the on-site work for the installation occurred in October 2023.  The canvas was adhered to the ceiling in sections and the seams touched up to ensure the mural is completely smooth and harmonious.

The completed mural was unveiled at the Noble Maritime Collection’s 35th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction on Friday, November 10, 2023, and the Writing Room exhibition is now open to all visitors.

The Noble Maritime Collection is located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York.

The museum is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 12 until 5 PM.  Admission to the museum during regular gallery hours is by donation.

To learn more about the museum, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

About its work, the New York Landmarks Conservancy says, “From the smallest buildings, to the most extraordinary landmarks, to our diverse neighborhoods, the New York Landmarks Conservancy is on the front lines—preserving and protecting the unique architectural heritage and character of the City we love.”  For more information, visit nylandmarks.org.

Established in 1978, EverGreene has provided design, restoration, and conservation services for some of the most significant art, architecture, and artifacts across the United States.  Their award-winning work on historic landmarks, adaptive reuse, and contemporary environments has earned them an international reputation for being the foremost authority on architectural arts.  They have worked on more than 400 theaters; 38 of the fifty state capitols including the US Capitol and other civic buildings; commercial buildings; numerous sacred spaces; and museums.  Visit evergreene.com to learn more.

EverGreene Architectural Arts’ Foreman Hugo Durand installing a ceiling mural canvas at the Noble Maritime Collection in October 2023.  (Photo by Ciro Galeno, Jr., courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection)

The completed Writing Room ceiling mural restoration at the Noble Maritime Collection.  (Photo by Ciro Galeno, Jr., courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection)

Happy Holidays from the Noble Maritime Collection!

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Dear friends,

I am so proud of all we accomplished at the Noble Maritime Collection in 2023, thanks, in part, to your support. 

• Our audience grew to nearly 15,000 people.

• We served 3,777 schoolchildren of all ages and abilities with our unique brand of arts education, and those services will continue to grow as we received prestigious funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop Musical Voyage Around the World, an inclusive new program based in ethnomusicology.

• We opened the exhibition Picturing the Water: The Photography of Alice Austen, guest-curated by the Alice Austen House Museum’s Executive Director Victoria Munro.  It features 15 maritime-themed images that have never before been seen by the public, and it will be on view through the spring.

• We presented the major exhibition Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea—which closed in September—and held a historic reunion of the survivors of the 1956 sinking of the Italian ocean liner.

• The District Council 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades painted the gallery around John A. Noble’s houseboat studio, with paint donated by PPG.

• And with the generous support of the Versailles-Giverny Foundation, facilitated by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, we restored the historic Writing Room trompe-l’œil ceiling mural, which dates from Sailors’ Snug Harbor’s 50th anniversary in 1883.

Please consider making a year-end donation to the Noble Maritime Collection, in any amount.  We put all donations to the best possible use, and your generous gift will help preserve the art and artifacts in our collection for coming generations of museumgoers and maritime enthusiasts. 

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In 2024, we will present the new exhibition Noble Industrial, a solo exhibition by Staten Island artist Robert Padovano, and updated displays in the Writing Room about the people who lived and worked at Sailors’ Snug Harbor, including new research about the experiences of people of color.  We also hope to host a public program about the Writing Room ceiling mural restoration.

I hope to welcome you to the museum again soon.  In the meantime, I wish you peace and happiness this holiday season and in the year to come.

Warm regards and many thanks,

Ciro Galeno, Jr.
Executive Director

The Noble Maritime Collection will celebrate the 35th anniversary of its annual art auction fundraiser on Friday, November 10

The Noble Maritime Collection will present the 35th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction as an in-person and virtual event on Friday, November 10 at the museum and via LiveAuctioneers.

Each year since 1988, local artists and collectors have donated fine art to be auctioned as a fundraiser for the Noble Maritime Collection, a non-profit organization.

All of the proceeds benefit the museum and yield up to 20% of its annual budget, making possible exhibitions and free and low-cost public programs including arts education for children of all ages and abilities. 

Marc Chagall (1887-1985), À l'Ombre des Revês, From Chagall Peintures 1942-1945, Tipped in print, 1947, 8 ½” x 9”, Donated by Ciro Galeno, Jr., in a frame donated by Kathy Cracchiolo   

This year’s lots include original lithographs by the museum’s namesake, John A. Noble (1913-1983); several watercolor and oil paintings; work in a variety of mediums by noted local contemporary artists; and vintage prints by world-renowned artists including John James Audubon (1785-1851) and Marc Chagall (1887-1985).

“There is no other event on Staten Island quite like the Noble Art Auction,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection.  “It is, perhaps, the borough’s biggest annual art sale and one of its most successful non-profit fundraisers.  It is also great fun and ever-growing in popularity, for which we are most grateful, particularly as we celebrate this 35th anniversary.”

Scott Van Campen, Executive Director of MakerSpace NYC, will return for his fifth year as auctioneer.

The in-person event will begin at 6:30 PM with an open bar and a light supper.  Catering by Framboise, led by Chef Frank Puleo, will once again cater the event with French cuisine.

The auction will start at 8 PM and will be simultaneously streamed on LiveAuctioneers.com for virtual bidding.

Major underwriting for the event has been generously provided by Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company, Mrs. Jean Roland, and Flagstar Bank, as well as other business and community supporters that can be viewed at noblemaritime.org/auction.

Tickets are $125 each, or $90 for museum members.  Reservations are required.  Those who wish to participate on LiveAuctioneers can make a free account to register for the Noble auction.  LiveAuctioneers registrations will be accepted through the day of the event on November 10.

To purchase tickets, view the art, and learn about live online bidding via LiveAuctioneers, visit noblemaritime.org/auction.

The auction art is currently being exhibited in two of the museum’s first floor galleries and features 44 lots, including antique and contemporary paintings, prints, photographs, jewelry, and unique objects. 

There are three lithographs by Noble, including Topsail Sheet Hook from 1970, which has never before been offered in the museum’s auction.  The others are Watchman of the Dead from 1959 and Wood, Mud and Water from 1982.

There are also rare prints by celebrated historic artists.  Included are Snowy Owls by John James Audubon (1785-1851), published as a deeptone offset print in 1948;  À l'Ombre des Revês from Chagall Peintures 1942-1945 by Marc Chagall (1887-1985); and The Marilyn Monroe Trip, VIII a serigraph in Day-Glo ink from 1968 by Bert Stern (1929-2013).

John Stobart (1929-2023), New York: The Abner Coburn Leaving the East River for San Francisco in 1886, Limited edition print, Edition 750, 1984, 23 ¾” x 30 ½”, Donated by Michael Cusack, in a frame donated by Kathy Cracchiolo

The limited edition print New York: The Abner Coburn Leaving the East River for San Francisco in 1886 by the museum’s late trustee and noted maritime artist John Stobart (1929-2023) will likely spark lots of competitive bidding.

Additionally there is a selection of fine art prints by Albert Maennchen (1873-1935), Charles Frederick Mielatz (1864-1919), Robert Volpe (1942-2006), and Herman Zaage (1927-2008). 

Contemporary artists who have contributed prints to the auction include Staten Islanders Irma Bohórquez-Geisler, Bill Murphy, Colman Rutkin, Annamarie Trombetta, and Sarah Yuster, as well as William Behnken, Colleen Pike Blair, Miriam Quen Cheikin, Martha Ives, Robert Kipniss, and Ellen Nathan Singer.  The selection includes lithographs, engravings, etchings, giclees, linocuts, mezzotints, and woodcuts.

Jack Demyan (1923-1999), Richmond County Courthouse, Acrylic on canvas, 1993, 29” x 39”, In the artist’s original frame

A painting of note amongst the lots is Richmond County Courthouse—the center of Historic Richmond Town—by Noble’s friend and famed restaurateur Jack Demyan (1923-1999).  It is a fine example of his quaint, folk art depictions of Staten Island landmarks, and the composition includes a pheasant, one of borough’s quirky fauna of days gone by.

Additionally available are paintings in various mediums by Brian Comforti, Ann Vaughan Leggett (1941-2014), and an unknown early 20th-century artist of the Scottish school, as well as Staten Islanders Halina McCormack, James McCormack (1938-2011), Anthony Roselli, and Grace Volpe.

The auction includes photographs by Emil Cadoo (1926-2002), Bo Kass (1938-2020), and Robert Parent (1923-1987), as well as Staten Islanders Bill Higgins, Jahtiek Long, Michael McWeeney, and Lance Reha.

Lance Reha, Double Crossing, Digital photograph, 2022, 14 1/8” x 20 ¾”

(detail) Bill Higgins, Theatre de Lumiere, Photograph, c. 1980, 18 ½” x 12 ½”, Framing donated by the artist

Local artist and auction committee member Elle Finn donated an embossed pen-and-ink floral still life drawing, and a 19th-century example of the medium is also included with a striking pen-and-ink drawing of a tiger on a scroll by an unknown artist in the style of Japanese artist Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795).

Some especially unique objects in the Noble Art Auction include Sage Reynolds’s Bright Horizon, a tapestry made out of hand-painted paper; a composite box by The Reverend John Walsted (1932-2014) that features an egg tempera replica of Portrait of a Young Woman by Nicholaes Pickenoy; a sterling silver palmette pin by Valerie Quinlan (1937-2021) based on a design from Pompeii; a reproduction of the cover of an Italian Line promotional booklet from the museum’s now-closed Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea exhibition; and a coat and hat rack made by master craftsman Roger Sherry from vintage porcelain door knobs repurposed from his 1902 farmhouse. 

Winning bidders through LiveAuctioneers can pick up their purchases at the museum beginning on Tuesday, November 14.

Shipping is available directly through LiveAuctioneers or through the museum’s partner, Postal Connections, 1365 N. Railroad Avenue, Staten Island.  Interested bidders can get a quote before bidding and arrange for shipping by contacting them at (718) 980-2000 or postalconnections210@yahoo.com.

The Noble Maritime Collection is located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York.

The museum is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 12 until 5 PM, during which time the auction preview exhibition can be viewed.  Admission to the museum during regular gallery hours is by donation.

To learn more about this unique maritime museum, or for more information about the auction, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

J.J. Audubon (1785-1851), Snowy Owls, Published by The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Deeptone offset print, 1948, 21 ½” x 17 ½”, Donated by Nancy Fiske                             

Bert Stern (1929-2013), The Marilyn Monroe Trip, VIII, Serigraph, Day-Glo ink on uncoated paper, 1968, 10” x 10”, From The Marilyn Monroe Trip: A Portfolio of Serigraphs by Bert Stern, Avant-Garde magazine, Volume 2, March 1968, Donated by Ciro Galeno, Jr.

The Noble Maritime Collection celebrates 20 years of CloseKnit, the museum’s longest running program

The Noble Maritime Collection’s CloseKnit—the museum’s longest-running public program—celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 7, and now its members are hoping to grow in numbers.

CloseKnit began in September 2003, just a few years after the Noble Maritime Collection opened its new home, the volunteer-restored Building D at Snug Harbor Cultural Center.  CloseKnit preserves the maritime tradition of knitting, and the items made by its members benefit charities serving mariners and local families in need.

A close-up of CloseKnitter Irene Richards at work.  Photo by Michael McWeeney

The program was inspired by efforts during World War II to knit for merchant mariners.  The late Martha Keucher—a member of the museum’s volunteer Noble Crew—suggested that the Noble Maritime Collection start a similar program, and since then, the realization of her idea has brought warmth and goodwill to thousands.

The CloseKnitters estimate that over the past two decades, they have made 5,000 individual items using 10.65 miles of yarn.

CloseKnit is a free, open-enrollment program, and its members meet at the museum from 2 to 4 PM on the first Thursday of each month.  The museum provides yarn and patterns so that they can make knitted goods such as hats, scarves, and blankets for the Seamen’s Church Institute’s Christmas at Sea program, the maternity ward at Richmond University Medical Center, Project Hospitality, and the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, as well as other service organizations.

“I am always amazed by the artistry and technical skills of the CloseKnitters, who are so passionate about their craft,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., the Noble Maritime Collection’s Executive Director. 

“My favorite CloseKnit story is when the group created—in short order—over 20 teddy bears for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation to give to Stephen’s House of the Maison d’Enfants par la Foi Orphanage, when it was being built in Haiti in 2014,” Mr. Galeno recalled.

CloseKnit leaders Gale Bellafiore and Judy Davis.  Photo by Michael McWeeney

At the heart of CloseKnit is the camaraderie of its members, many of whom have been part of the group since its inception, including museum trustee Gale Bellafiore and Judy Davis, who are its informal leaders.

The Noble Maritime Collection is looking to ensure that CloseKnit endures for another generation or more, and is inviting all knitters to participate in the program, which next meets on Thursday, October 5.

All levels of knitters are welcome, but some knowledge of the craft is required, as the group does not have an instructor.  Yarn provided by the museum is for charitable projects, but knitters are also welcome to work on their own projects at the meetings.

If a knitter is unable to attend in person on the first Thursday of the month at 2 PM, they may pick up yarn at the museum and work on charitable projects at their own pace.  For more information, call (718) 447-6490. 

The Noble Maritime Collection’s public programs, including CloseKnit, are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation.

The Noble Maritime Collection, located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York, is open from 12 until 5 PM, Thursdays through Sundays.  Admission is by donation.

For more information, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

Noble Maritime Collection and the Alice Austen House present the new exhibition Picturing the Water: The Photography of Alice Austen

The Noble Maritime Collection in collaboration with the Alice Austen House presents Picturing the Water: The Photography of Alice Austen, an exhibition of never-before-exhibited photographs by Alice Austen.

The exhibition will be on view at the Noble Maritime Collection beginning May 18, 2023.  There will be an opening reception on Thursday, May 18 from 6 to 8 PM, with refreshments by Catering by Framboise.

Living and working on Staten Island during the Gilded Age, Alice Austen (1866–1952) was one of the first women photographers to work outside the confines of a studio, employing a visionary documentary style that was ahead of its time. 

Picturing the Water explores Austen’s deep connection to both local and international waterways and the vessels that traverse them.  The newly printed photographs, reproduced from Austen’s glass plate and hand-printed photographs, will be framed in John A. Noble’s signature handmade frames, reflecting on parallels between the artists’ visions.

This exhibition was guest-curated by Alice Austen House Executive Director Victoria Munro with collections assistance by Kristine Allegretti.

E. Alice Austen, Ribs of wreck, 1896. Collection of Historic Richmond Town.

“Alice Austen and John A. Noble share a birthday—March 17—albeit 47 years apart,” noted Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection.  “They are Staten Island’s most preeminent historic artists, with a pair of ferries named for them.  New York’s working waterfront figured largely in their art and lives, and we are honored to host this exhibition of the subject through Austen’s unique lens, which I am sure Noble would have appreciated.”

“When the Noble museum asked me to curate an exhibition of Austen’s photographs for their galleries, I was thrilled to make connections between Austen’s and Noble’s legacies.” Victoria Munro, Executive Director Alice Austen House said. “This project gave me and the Alice Austen Collections Director Kristine Allegretti the opportunity to research the vast archive of maritime images that Austen captured.  This revealed a collection of over 1,000 images that have rarely been viewed and opened a doorway to explore Austen’s intrinsic connection to the waterways of her front door and her travels.  I hope viewers will take away an understanding of Austen’s professional dedication to her medium and her bold unconventional determination to capture the magnificent beauty of the open water and vessels that inhabit it.”

This exhibition was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation.

The Noble Maritime Collection, located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York, is open from 12 until 5 PM, Thursdays through Sundays.  Admission is by donation.

Alice Austen House Museum members will be offered free admission to the Noble Maritime Collection during regular gallery hours throughout the run of the Picturing the Water exhibition.

For more information, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

The Alice Austen House Museum is located at 2 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY and is open Tuesday through Friday, 12 PM until 5 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 11 AM until 5 PM.  Admission is $6 per person.

For more information, call (718) 816-4506 or visit aliceausten.org.

Crossing the bar, John Stobart

The Noble Maritime Collection salutes preeminent maritime painter John Stobart, who passed away earlier this month at age 93. Stobart and John A. Noble were friends and mutual admirers. In 2001 he joined the Board of Trustees of the museum, which presented a retrospective of his work in 2003 and the exhibition Stobart at Noble in 2018.

Stobart was a master painter whose panoramic compositions recall the history of the maritime industry. He has an international reputation and his work is in major art collections worldwide. Born in Leicester, England, he showed an early aptitude for creativity and studied at the Derby College of Art and Royal Academy Schools. Upon graduation, he embarked on a voyage to South Africa where he began a lifetime process of gathering material for his work in ports throughout the world.

He immigrated to Canada in 1957 and established his career as a painter, and in 1965 he moved with his family to the United States. He founded Maritime Heritage Prints, Inc. in 1976, through which he published limited edition prints of his works, and in 1986 he published the first of his large-format books, Stobart, The Rediscovery of America's Maritime Heritage. He created the Stobart Foundation in 1989 for the purpose of awarding scholarships to qualified students who excel in plein air painting in oil on canvas.

John Stobart was forever youthful, jovial, charming, and generous. This photograph from May 26, 1954, courtesy of thejohnstobartgallery.com, shows him around age 25, honored to have his painting, The Fleet Review At Spithead, exhibited in London.

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