Fine Art Gift

A small local museum saves a very big whaling-era mural

It was a great SouthCoast nautical treasure, but it wasn't buried on a remote island or located 20,000 leagues under the sea.

No, it was affixed, for 90 years, to the porch ceiling of a Mattapoisett waterfront home.

But now, thanks to the intrepid president of the Mattapoisett Historical Society, it will be a historical and fine art treasure that forever tells the tale of Southeastern Massachusett's greatest claim to grandeur, the whaling era.

Seth Mendell, a historian by trade, knew soon after Polly Duff Phipps told him about the Clifford Ashley mural that was hanging in her family's home at 20 Water St. that he was on to something important.

"A Chart of the Whale Coast of New England c. 1810" was painted in 1919 by Ashley, a master of the whaling era whose seascape works have long regaled the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

The oil-and-water canvas was commissioned by area industrialist Gilbert Hinsdale, a friend of Ashley's, and it had hung in his home on Buzzards Bay apparently for his personal enjoyment.

Mendell could see that the Ashley work told the important early history of this region but he also had on his hands an aging work of art that had been subjected to a leaky roof, smoky stoves and time.

The Whaling Museum took a pass on accepting the 16-by-6-foot painting as a gift but Mendell knew that it absolutely had to be saved. And in order to save it, he would have to find a way to restore it so it could be displayed.

"I know that people in today's world see things and they just throw them out," he said. "And I just could not see that happen to that chart."

So the president of this small-town historical society took on the task of raising the money to rehabilitate the mural.

It was no easy task. The chart had been glued to a massive, solid wood platform with iron straps. It was so heavy it took 10 men to remove it from the Hinsdale residence.

Even more challenging was how to find a restorer willing to take on such a large project.

The society finally located Gianfranco Pocobene, a Boston specialist in mural restoration, who agreed to do the job. Pocobene is nationally known for his work on projects that include murals in the Boston Public Library and Trinity Church in Boston.

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Product Description

If you love the look of clay pottery, but hate how easily pottery can break or crack, we have the perfect decorating solution. Safe to use indoors or outdoors, our Clayworks vase is handcrafted from tough, durable synthetic resin that stands up to both the tests of time and the elements. Unlike ordinary clay vases that are extremely fragile, our vase is virtually unbreakable, even if it is accidentally bumped and tipped over. But long-lasting durability isn’t all this vase has going for it. The wide, cylindrical body has a textured finish and is hand-painted to convincingly resemble genuine clay. The neck is wrapped by hand in natural rattan to create interest and contrast.

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