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| Heritage Gone This watercolor is my interpretation of a 30-year old black-and-white photograph by Steve Szabo that captured the abandonment of a skipjack oyster dredging boat in a Wenona, MD saltmarsh. Steve was a photographer at the Washington Post and a teacher at the Corcoran School of Art until his death in May 2000. In 2007, copyright permission to use was granted by Kathleen Ewing (http://www.kathleenewinggallery.com/) To me, Heritage Gone is a metaphor honoring both Steve's hauntingly simple photography and this beautiful line of hardworking fishing vessels of the Chesapeake Bay. Soon after its introduction to the Chesapeake in the mid-1880s, the skipjack became the preferred oyster dredge boat. Some estimate nearly two thousand skipjacks were built. Its wide beam and low freeboard provide a large stable working platform. The single-mast rig, mainsail, and large jib are easy to handle, powerful in light winds, and capable of coming about quickly without losing way. A significant decline in oyster prices in the early 1900s resulted in the abandonment and destruction of much of the skipjack fleet. That fleet has continued to decline slowly ever since. Only about 30 remain; many are in poor condition and not likely to be restored. The original watercolor, presented in a 4" wide hardwood frame in a driftwood finish triple matted in an acid-free tan linen on a driftwood filet on a tan linen with an outer dimension of 26" x 30"), is available for $4,500.00. Also available are limited edition prints and note cards. |
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