CHRISTOPHER BLOSSOM
EDUCATION
Parsons School of Design
AFFILIATIONS
American Society of Marine Artists
National Academy of Western Art
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Stolt-Nielson
Forbes Magazine
Submarine Force Museum, Groton, Connecticut
U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Art of the West, September October 2001
Illustrator in America 1860-2000, Society of Illustrators, NY 2001
Marine Artist, Greenwich Workshop Press, Shelton, CT 2001
Southwest Art, 2000
Art of the West, November December 1998
American Artist, April 1998
Sea History, 1997
Marine Painting, Images of Sail, Sea and Shore Studio Editions LTD, London 1995
Marine Painting, Techniques of Modern Masters Watson Guptill, NY 1991
REPRESENTED BY
J. Russell Jinishian Gallery, Fairfield, CT
Pitzers of Carmel, Carmel, CA
Admiralty Gallery, Vero Beach, FL
Transferring the Pilot
Christopher Blossom
22" x 36" Oil
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Built in 1894 at Essex, Massachusetts, the Joseph Pulitzer represents the final form of the New York model. By this time, the benefits of the steam cutters were becoming apparent to the pilot associations. In July of 1897 the pilot steamer New York took up her station. The days of the sailing pilots were over.
Here, the Pulitzer beats into a stiff breeze towards the inbound square-rigger shortening sail in the distance. Shortly, the Pulitzer will round up in the lee of her charge and launch one of her two boats to transfer a pilot."
"Pilotage under sail was a colorful chapter in maritime history. Beginning with the smallest of open boats, the development of the pilot boats progressed slowly, probably due to seamanlike conservatism, but by the mid 1800's changes began to occur. Dual needs of seaworthiness and speed were required, speed to race to the incoming ships before their competitors, seaworthiness to remain on station in any weather, winter and summer. These two needs which could be diametrically opposed in extreme examples, needed to be combined in the pilot schooners.
Created by Core Interactive