
Some years ago it was suggested that I build waterline models for profitable sales, similiar to the work of noted builder Charles Van Ryper. At that time I was not familiar with his work, nor did I know the history about his contemporary "Art Deco' style which emerged when he produced his Travel Series prior to the Second World War. Today, in the maritime arts, especially in the Collectible market of ship models, there seem to be a strong resurgence of collectors sprouting up in America and across the atlantic relative to the antique shipmodels of Charles Van Ryper. This is due, in part,...

It's evident on the collectible's circuit that miniature ship models have taken on a new perspective as an artform. In recent times it has been garnered the distinctive titleship as being a highend collectible under the auctioneer's hammer -and bidding participants who look upon these tiny gems, with awe and appreciation, anticipate ownership. These ship miniatures have been bought, sold, and appraised for hundreds (sometimes thousand of dollars) -attesting to the fact that these are, indeed, highly desirable art pieces. Ship models, or rather, the ship model has long been regarded in ...

It has been long regarded that ship models exist as a craftsman's art and has never been taken seriously as a true artform. On the contrary... Over the years, as both artist and historian, I have studied this art trend -and to my amazement and awe, found that the artist and the artform has, in my most humble observation, been a medium much sought after. Moreover, with the recent passing of noted British artist Donald McNarry, world-wide collectors have scowered the maritime searching for his signature miniatures since his retirement from the medium in 1983. At the auction house of Chri...

Shadowboxes came into vogue as sailor keepsakes during the 18th century when crews placed in this window-framed box items that denoted a sailor or officer's career while with a ship. This was the early shadowbox. Since then, the shadowbox has developed into pictureque two-dimensional form containing either cultural or maritime-related subjects. As the American maritime market grew in the mid-70s, so did the shadowbox. These were bulky wall pieces that centered around a shipmodel that was plaed in a setting with other vessels or coastal scenes which either depicted a lighthouse or town. T...
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