The first ship in this study should be Matson Lines’ Malolo, which entered service in 1927.(Now I’m still wrestling with whether the Leviathan should take this spot. Technically the German-built Vaterland, William Francis Gibbs gave the ship a top to bottom rejuvenation, but if I hold true to keeping the ships in this study American-built, then no Leviathan. Argh.)
I found a pamphlet listing the artworks installed on the Malolo. Not murals, they were paintings meant to accessorize whatever room they were placed. I don’t believe they were specially created for the ship.
However, the prints adorning the staterooms and suites were
created specifically for the Malolo.
I had the name of Mary J. Coulter, but little else. Then I stumbled across a
small piece in a long-defunct magazine: The
Argus. (Subtitled: A Journal of Art Criticism and News.) Folios of the
prints onboard the Malolo were on
display in two galleries in San
Francisco
Stranger things have been listed on WorldCat.org, so why not search? Lo and behold, a catalogue of etchings and dry points* dated 1927, same year the Malolo entered service, same year The Argus article appeared. Not 100% conclusive proof, but as her work for the Malolo took two years, did Coulter make time for other projects? Perhaps, just to take a break and do something different, but that’s how I would do it. (And I admit Time Management is not always my friend.)
To my knowledge, there are no libraries in my area that are on WorldCat, so it may take a personal visit to check this lead out.
*Yeah, I didn’t know what dry points were either. Webster’s says a dry point is “a fine, hard needle for engraving lines on a copper plate without using acid.” Sounds pretty time-consuming.
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