[Leica] Re: Boat paintings

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Sep 13, 2006, at 3:13 PM, Richard wrote:

> Leica photography costs nothing compared to boat ownership.  I'm
> surprised your wife was able to squeeze real money out of those guys
> for a painting.  Most I've known would rather redo their brightwork,
> or install refrigeration, or do almost anything for the boat, than
> eat.


Marine art has a tradition extending back to the Egyptians. Ancient  
tombs are inscribed with the images of boats the deceased owned.  
Greek coins are emblazoned with images of triremes and the Vikings  
carved pictures of their boats on their personal jewelery. Visit any  
old home or small museum in New England and you will find paintings  
of the ships that the local smugglers and slave owners used to ply  
their trades in the 17th and 18th century. Of course these families  
are now the pillars of society. Boat owners are so obnoxiously proud  
of their boats that they will pay absurd prices for boat paintings.  
Just like horse owners and dog owners.

My wife studied art under the last of the Hudson River School  
artists, George Kelly, a stickler for environmental authenticity. He  
couldn't paint a decent boat to save his soul but his depictions of  
the river were masterpieces. The boat owners whose boats she painted  
were just the reverse. They objected if a line was out of place but  
they wanted their boats to be shown braving the elements of the North  
Sea rather than on the placid waters of Long Island Sound and the  
Hudson River. And I certainly agree that Leica ownership is cheap  
compared to yachting. As the saying goes, "A boat is a hole in the  
water into which you throw money."

Larry Z