Day 28/60: The Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA

Groton, CT to Fairhaven, MA: 84 miles

Our objective today was The Whaling Museum in New Bedford, only about eighty miles from Groton. It was nearly noon by the time we got under way, so we stopped for a quick lunch at a Subway on the way.  We got to the museum by 2:00, leaving us 2 hours to look around before the museum closed at 4 p.m.

Entrance to The New Bedford Whaling Museum
Dan's photo

The Whaling Museum is pretty large and impressive. Several skeletons of different types of whales hang about; what huge and strangely shaped jaws they have. There are collections of photos, prints and paintings pertaining to whaling and other local maritime activities, plus scrimshaw, antique glassware, and other artifacts.

Sample of antique glass collection
Jan's photo

Sample of scrimshaw collection
Jan's photo

The museum had a puzzling ship-in-a-bottle problem: inside the graceful building from the early 20th century was an authentic whaling ship. Coming upon the ship from a direction that lacked signage, and being overly credible, perhaps, I spent quite awhile trying to figure out whether they built the museum around the ship; eventually I found a large sign explaining that the ship is only a half-size model and that it had been constructed inside the newly completed museum building.

Half-size model of Whaling Ship Lagoda
Jan's photo

We weren't as interested in whaling per se as in paintings of the subject. Quite a diverse selection was on display, from Dutch Old Master Marine paintings to 1950s depictions of whaling-factory ships. We found two excellent seascapes by William Bradford, whose work we have been noticing in our travels.

Sealers Crushed by Icebergs, 1866
William Bradford (American, 1823-1891)
Dan's photo

Caught in the Ice Floes, 1867
William Bradford (American, 1823-1891)
Dan's photo

We were amused to find an example of Communist idealism in this Ukrainian work; cheerful workers out for a sail rejoice in a prosperous maritime economy.

Saluting the Sailors, 1958
The Soviet floating-factory whaleship Slava departing Sevastopol
Willy Makrozhitski (Ukrainian, b.1928)
Dan's photo

Every now and then we discover a regional artist that we especially like. At the Whaling Museum we were lucky to view a retrospective exhibit of a contemporary maritime artist named John Stobart. He specializes in the historically accurate depiction of 19th century ports and harbors when ships were sail powered. He also does some modern works as well.

Nantucket Sleigh Ride, 1982
 John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Dan's photo

Unloading Whale-oil Casks, New Bedford, 1969
John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Dan's photo

Lightning, 1970
Returning to England from Sydney with a load of grain
John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Dan's photo

Salem, Derby Wharf and the Custom House c. 1825, 2001
John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Dan's photo

I especially liked the ones with a mix of natural and artificial light.

New Bedford, the View Across to Fairhaven from Center Street in 1884, 1990
John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Dan's photo

Waiting for the Tide, South Street, New York, 1970
John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Dan's photo

San Francisco, the Gold Rush Harbor by Moonlight in 1851, 2009
John Stobart (English, born in 1929)
Jan's photo

New Bedford's very active fishing port was made difficult for us to access because of extensive highway and sidewalk construction.

New Bedford is home to a very large Commercial fishing fleet.
View from the 2nd floor of the Whaling Museum
Dan's photo

Our motel, the Seaport Inn and Marina, was just across the river in Fairhaven. We checked in about 5 p.m. Having slept poorly the night before, I conked out immediately. Dan took a cab back into New Bedford (15 minutes and $8) so he could have dinner at a famous Portuguese restaurant called Antonio's.

Antonio's Restaurant, New Bedford MA
Dan's photo