America’s visual maritime heritage is crucial to understanding who we are as a country, how we got here, and where we can go.

Considered solely as art, many important marine works hold little interest for contemporary curators. While many museums can only display 10% of their collections, that figure is as low as 0.5% for marine works. Museums, auction houses and collectors commit resources accordingly, and so many works have never been documented properly and have never been seen by the public.

But each of these works has a story to tell and a portrait to paint of our nation. For many historic ships, the workmanlike 19th C. ship portrait by an itinerant painter is the only remaining record. Once the art is gone, so is any chance to unlock knowledge of that history.

The Center for American Marine Art is dedicated to bringing these works to the forefront of our identity as a country. We are dedicated to documenting and imaging works using the most advanced museum and cultural heritage technology and techniques, creating an online database featuring these high-resolution 3D images, and developing virtual and national traveling exhibitions.

It’s nice to think that “there are people who take care of these things.” But History is fragile. And history that isn’t valued at a particular time is often lost forever. Right now, this piece of our national puzzle is in danger of being lost.

The specialized cameras, software, computers, transportation and staff all cost real money. It’s money that museums and collectors do not have.

This is your history. Protect it by making a donation today.

Thank you,