Pier 25 Marine Art Show

Pier 25 is unmistakeable on the Hudson side of lower Manhattan.  I posted fotos of Lilac moving to Pier 25 aka “historic ships pier” back a year and some months ago.   On some of those fotos, you can see bowsprite catching lines from the Miller’s Launch crew assisting Lilac’s arrival.  Bowsprite also goes by the name “Christina Sun,” who is half of the art show proclaimed on the dockside sign below.

Here she was hanging the show last weekend.  If you’ve looked at her site much, you’d have seen her rendering of RB 45614 (below) on her artblog here.

The other half of the art show (up til the end of August!!) is Frank Hanavan.    I’ve painted with Frank, like here on this bowsprit at least six years ago, and posted on this blog here back in 2007.  This foto and the next by Maggie Flanagan.

But besides painting in places that require a harness, Frank also paints

en plein air with an easel. In fact, this piece, part of his show, he did ON Pier 25 back in May when Picton Castle docked there for a few days.  Click on that link  (scroll through) and you’ll

see what message was printed on the square sail on the foremast.  Frank’s art is all contained in one room on Lilac, but

bowsprite’s 38 prints are spread through Lilac, leading the observer on a treasure hunt . . .  even through the engine room!

But I can’t look at a piece like this and NOT remember the delightful story on her blog about excavator dredge J. P. Boisseau with remembering the whale that appeared in Lower NY Bay, no doubt coming to check who was scratching the harbor’s bottom . . . and why.

Lilac is a unique vessel open to the public Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  Hours are here.  In fact, this Saturday evening, besides art, you can also see the world premiere of a documentary about MV Liemba, the nearly century old steam ferry (I believe very recently dieselized but still running) on Lake Tangayika.  For a press release about the film from Lilac Museum director, Mary Habstritt, click here.

Historic ships, art, film, music, drinks, warm summer evening on the Hudson in Lower Manhattan . .  . . . .  see you there!!  Bring some $$ too and take home some beautiful marine art for your walls.

Here’s Frank’s official site.   And here’s Christina’s online “sketchbook.”

Unrelated:  Here’s a 13-minute interview I did with John Doswell of Working Harbor Committee (WHC) back in 2010.  I’d never heard it until today.  And remember  . . . here’s info on the WHC-sponsored 20th annual tugboat race coming up in NYC’s sixth boro in less than three weeks!!