Resorts at Sea: October (The Mystery of Michael Lantz)

One of the more frustrating aspects of this project is the only information about the artists involved appears in conjunction with the ship where their art appeared. That’s the only mention. Don’t get me wrong, the hunt has been fun, but there’s only so many times where saying “The game’s afoot!” can get my mojo going. A few times, I’ve been the victim of misspelled names; the wrong vowel can make a world of difference. Somewhere in-between all this is sculptor Michael Lantz.

He’s mentioned in the May/June 1952 issue of The Shipbuilder, the magazine of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, builders of the United States. There’s even a picture of him. (see top right) And he’s mentioned in the September 1952 issue of Marine Engineering and Shipping Review. In these two publications, Michael Lantz is credited with the sculpture in the Cabin Class Dining Room of the United States. (To be fair, the wording used in both publications is practically identical.)

Let’s check The Big Ship by Frank O. Braynard. The Big Ship is, to me, the definitive work on the United States. Braynard wrote, “One of the many well-known artists employed to decorate “the Big Ship” was Seymour Lipton. He did many of the aluminum sculptures that provided a continuity of décor in the ship’s foyers and public spaces. In the Tourist Dining Saloon one of this works featured a bull.” What the wha?

 Front cover and pages from the Lester Beall designed brochure on the ss United States.

Center: a representation of the Cabin Class Dining Saloon. I've seen a shot
where it shows Centaurus, not the American Eagle in that location.

Right: a list of artists and their work onboard the ship

I looked up Seymour Lipton. His style of sculpture was nowhere near that used in the foyers, not that it’s a deal breaker. One’s style can be adjusted to suit the moment. Braynard also referenced Lester Beall’s magnificent brochure introducing the ship. I have a copy, and Lipton is not mentioned in it. Austin Purves is credited with creating aluminum sculptures of state birds and flowers for the First Class stair landings and foyers. Erica Egan created murals depicting 18^th and 19^th century sailors in the Tourist Dining Saloon. And Michael Lantz did the aluminum outline sculpture of the constellations for the Cabin Dining Saloon.

Thoroughly frustrated, I needed another source to set this right in my mind. An internet search brought up the September 1956 issue of American Artist and the article “The Sculpture of Michael Lantz.” It was on eBay, the price was right, so I bought in hopes it would provide some answers. Success! Lantz used the outline method for the United States “to keep the weight of the sculpture within the specified limits.” Those limits aren’t specified in the article, but I’d love to find out what they were. There was no mention of Seymour Lipton.

Left: Horse in the Crown Room in the Du Pont Plaza Hotel. Right: Horse in the Cabin Class Dining Saloon.

Even if there wasn’t any mention of the United States, there was a photo in the article of sculpture Lantz created for the Crown Room in the Du Pont Plaza Hotel in D.C. The sculpture in the Crown Room is larger than that in the Cabin Dining Saloon on the United States, but when compared with the latter, one can easily tell they’re from the same sculptor.

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Ocean liner history often deals with size, speed, service history, and the personalities behind it all. Though an integral part of the design process, interiors are usually an afterthought in remembrances. They’re in the background. I don’t mean to fault Braynard. I have an autographed set of his mammoth six-volume work on the Leviathan. (Which is excellent.) But having access to the same period documents – and knowing his ephemera collection was way better than mine ever will be – it bums me out a little knowing some facts were considered more important than others.

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Looking at the fluidity of the lines in Lantz’ sculpture reminded me of something else. For some reason, I kept confusing Michael Lantz with Walter Lantz, the creator of Woody Woodpecker. The lines in the animation of Woody are very fluid. Well, it turns out that Michael was the younger brother of Walter. How crazy is that?