Resorts at Sea: June 2012

The harvesting of artist info continues. With that brings avenues of exploration that I must not go down. Several of these artists, such as Willem de Kooning and Philip Guston dove head long into Abstract Expressionism after their WPA work on their respective ships, thus more info is available on these latter portions of their careers. (Fun to look at, the subject matter is, admittedly, not for the masses, and some of it would have looked quite freakish on board a ship. Case in point ... after showing her the exhibit catalogue for 12 Americans, my 92-year-old grandmother said it looked like children did it,  and not in the good way.)

There have been days where I swear I’ve come close to breaking Google. Or maybe it’s a warning to back off a little. But I have found more artist-ship connections. I also found a digital library with lots … nay … tons of Matson Line ephemera. When their Malolo debuted in 1927, a pamphlet listing the artists and their art was published. (Even the titles of the works were included!) Another one in 1957 described the works on the Mariposa and Monterey. Twelve new artists were added to the list with that pamphlet alone. Twelve. Yay!

Occasionally, the must have piece of ephemera becomes available. I’ve recently lost two auctions for this American Export Lines brochure that has color photos of the public spaces on board the Independence and Constitution. On the other hand, I didn’t know it existed, so I guess that’s some consolation. This piece contains the names of artists who decorated the Tourist Class dining rooms. The photo posted on eBay was a little blurry, but I think I have derived the names. However, without this piece, or any other evidence, my conclusion is mere conjecture.

But I made up for it -- a little -- with a 1948 deck plan for Moore-McCormack's Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Until now, I've had only a partial list of public spaces, and only the faintest idea as to their layouts.