Scenes of New York Harbor
Artist
Reginald Marsh
Year1937
Classification
painting
Medium
fresco
Dimensionsvarying (see components)
Credits
Treasury Relief Art Project, 1935 - 1938
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
- This panel is the seventh in a series of eight depicting the series of events involved in a ship entering New York Harbor. Considerable controversy arose over the painting of the mural, since most tug owners wanted their tugs prominently displayed in the mural. They were known as the "aristocracy of the harbor". The tugs shown in the portrait, right to left, are: Moran Towing; Dalzell Towing; Meseck Towing; Olsen Water and Towing; and E. E. Barrett & Company. The Normandie was the pride of the French line because in August 1937 it had set a speed record of 32.1 knots. The Normandie name was objected to by the Hon. Joseph P. Kennedy, then Chairman of the Maritime Commission (later, Ambassador to Great Britain), because of the prominence of a foreign flagship in the mural. The name of the ship appears blurred as a concession to Kennedy, who wished to have only American ships shown to encourage patronage and support. Unfortunately, there were no American ships to be depicted, so the foreign flags were omitted. Her subsequent sinking at the pier rather than at sea with thousands of WWII troops on board was ironic
