50th Anniversary Sanctuary Signature Articles
You Have to See/Sea This! A Sanctuary History of Visual Engagement
Humans rely on our senses—the five basic ones we learn in grade school plus others that are less well-known like our sense of space around our bodies (proprioception) and our sense of balance (equilibrioception)—to help us understand and interact with the world around us. For humans, although there are cultural differences, seeing is arguably our most important sense; our hearing and sense of smell, for example, are far less acute than those of some animals.
We have, perhaps even before we were fully Homo sapiens, used visual media to explain, explore, celebrate, and chronicle everything around us. Our natural world, including the ocean and its shores and wildlife, has been one of our favorite subjects for just as long. Small stone plaquettes with carvings of seals have been found in Germany that are more than 12,000 years old. A whale hunt, at least 1,000 years old and likely even older, is portrayed in rock art in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Ancient cave paintings depict humpback whales in the Pacific Northwest and marine animals in rock art murals in Baja California.
At fifty, we’re not quite that old but for our entire history, we too have used ocean-inspired visual media to share the ocean places we’re privileged to protect, and inspired others to do the same. Let’s explore those forms that have been most important to the National Marine Sanctuary System and its partners: the drawing, the photo, the painting, the poster, the film, and the virtual experience.
The Drawing
Since 2003, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and its partners have jointly sponsored an annual Marine Art Contest with the basic theme of exploring the biodiversity of the sanctuary. Additional partners and sponsors now include the New England Aquarium, Center for Coastal Studies, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, the Ocean Genome Project/Northeastern University, and Woods Hole Sea Grant. In 2021, prizes were offered in five categories: Grades K-4, Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12, Scientific Illustration (all grades) and Computer Graphics (all grades). Prizes included small cash awards, certificates, and museum and aquarium passes.
Each year’s entries bring an abundance of amazing artwork from students all over the country and overseas in all grade levels, who create drawings of everything from the sanctuary’s smallest zooplankton to bottom-dwelling flounder to free-ranging shearwaters to deep-diving right whales. Each year the winners are included in traveling displays that tour the New England region to share the wealth of offshore wildlife and to inspire people to care about and take care of them.
The Painting
Our sites contain lovely seascapes, from the wild beauty of offshore waters to the charm of sea lions lounging on rocks to picturesque marinas full of sailboats. Many such seascapes have been captured in paint for centuries, including of the places that are now sanctuaries. Artist Albert Bierstadt produced six paintings of seals in the Farallones in the 19th century, while early and mid-20th century painter Chiura Obata took some time from his famous Yellowstone National Park works to produce seascapes depicting the Monterey coastline. Among Winslow Homer’s well-known maritime paintings are those of small fishing towns and beaches along the Massachusetts coastline; one of his most famous works shows the terror of sharks circling a boat in the Gulf of Mexico, home to Flower Gardens Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
While paintings aren’t normally among our outreach tools, we occasionally, in partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, have had the privilege to host an artist-in-residence. One such artist, painter Tom Freeman (1952-2015) produced several works based on sanctuaries, including those shown above, “Whales” and “Mr. Lincoln’s Sanctuary”.
Natural History Art, Marine Life, Antonio J. Bastinos, Barcelona, 19th C, Antique Prints
Antonio J. Bastinos (1838-1928) (editor)
Julian [Bastinos?] (1852-1918)] (after)
Six Prints of Ocean Animals
Libreria de Antonio J. Bastinos, Barcelona: Late 19th C.
Chromolithographs
13.5 x 18.5 inches, overall
$250 each
Set of six plates of ocean animals, including fish, mollusks, and invertebrates, some of which include inset illustrations of human activity related to fishing. These are imprinted with the name of Barcelona publisher Antonio J. Bastinos, and one is signed “Julian” in the plate. There was a Julian Bastinos who illustrated a number of educational materials for Antonio J. Bastinos, and he is presumably the artist of these prints.
Product Description Continues Below
Category: Marine Life Tags: animals, antonio, bastinos, fish, life, marine, ocean
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Description
In the 19th education, there was a proliferation of visual materials, both printed and demonstration devices, as aids in teaching. The advent of lithography early in the 19th century, and then chromolithography later in the century, made the widespread use of these educational materials economically feasible. These colorful Spanish chromolithographs likely were used to teach natural history subjects.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear.
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