The artist and the sea

There are certain affinities developed out of man’s relationship with the sea: Fish with lemon; raw oysters and gin martinis; cocktail sauce on fried shrimp; crabs and beer; and paintings of maritime seascape, including the vessels that sail the seas.

Maritime painting is probably an acquired taste. For those of us who are enthralled with it, its very limitations are looked upon favorably. Thus, the exhibition at the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing will probably draw believers. Fishing on the Grand Banks: The Marine Art of Thomas Hoyne features some 40 paintings gathered from private collections and maritime museums. The show represents about a third of all of the work Hoyne completed during his lifetime from 1923 to 1989.

Hoyne’s is an interesting story. He spent many summers with his grandmother, who lived in a cottage in Oqunquit, Maine. That and a movie started his love affair with the sea.

"I became familiar with the Gloucester-Cape Ann area," Hoyne recalled in an interview before his death, "and, while there in 1938, saw the movie Captain Courageous in Gloucester. The subject of the story was the Gloucester fishing fleet and I was completely taken by it. In fact, it started a lifelong interest in the New England fishing industry, its ships and traditions."

That alone makes Philadelphia a perfect venue for this exhibit. Many artists associated with the city spent many long summers in Cape Ann, including John Sloan and Stuart Davis. Much of the sea light and its impact on colors found its way into Davis’ abstract art.

Hoyne furthered his maritime education as a gunnery officer on the LST 48 in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He had no formal art education but, again, his grandmother played a role. She was a friend of Gordon Grant, a noted artist and member of the National Academy of Fine Arts. He encouraged Hoyne’s art career and, once out of the Navy, Hoyne made his living in Chicago as an illustrator.

He was successful enough to be able to select his commissions and, in time, turned more of his attention to maritime subjects. Then, after discovering he had inoperable cancer, he devoted himself solely to maritime art. His doctors gave him only two years, but Hoyne lived another 17 years, completing about 100 paintings.

Hoyne specializes in the day-to-day life of the Grand Banks fishing industry. True to the traditions of maritime art, his work is so accurate that ships can easily be identified as if the painting were portraits – which, of course, they are. Looking at Hoyne’s work it is difficult not to feel a part of the New England fishing tradition. The content is often harsh, even cold, but there is a lyricism to the subject matter that shows Hoyne’s deep understanding of maritime life.

He became well known for his work. He was an American Society of Marine Artists fellow and his work is included in such museums as the Peabody in Salem, the Mystic Seaport Museum and the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. The Independence Seaport Museum also owns his work, but much of it is in the hands of private collectors.

A recently published book on Hoyne by Reese Palley, Wooden Ships and Iron Men: Maritime Art of Thomas Hoyne includes most of Hoyne’s work and serves to accompany the exhibition. Palley has completed a number of well-publicized sailboat journeys and has made a name and fortune for himself as an art dealer in Atlantic City. He is known for chartering not one, but two, Concorde flights to take clients to Europe for art and cocktails. He is also primarily responsible for the commercial success of Boehm porcelain.

The exhibit runs through Sept. 30 and marks the Independence Seaport Museum’s 10th anniversary on Penn’s Landing and its 45th year as the city’s maritime museum. During the summer, the museum will invite sailing ships to dock outside its front door on the Delaware River with visitors able to see the inspirations for Hoyne’s art.

Fishing on the Grand Banks: The Marine Art of Thomas Hoyne
Through Sept. 30
Independence Seaport Museum
Penn’s Landing
215-925-5439
www.phillyseaport.org
Adults, $9; seniors 65 and older and students with valid ID, $8; ages 3-12, $6; admission free from 10 a.m.-noon on Sundays.