Coast Guard Art Program

2016 Collection

Cosponsored by the United States Coast Guard and the Salmagundi Club

2015 George Gray Award Recipient

Fire Drill at Sea

by Tyson Snow

Inaugural Exhibition: July 2—July 15, 2016

Salmagundi Club

New York City 
The U.S. Coast Guard and its art program thank the New York City Council of the Navy League of 

the United States for its generosity in hosting the reception for the Coast Guard Art Program’s acceptance ceremony and inaugural exhibition opening.

Commandant (CG-09232)

U.S. Coast Guard

2703 Martin Luther King Ave., S.E.

STOP 7103

Washington, D.C. 20593-7103

(202) 372-4643

MaryAnn.Bader@uscg.mil

To view the collection, please visit

http://www.uscg.mil/art/

Cover:

Fire Drill at Sea

2015 George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence Recipient

by Tyson Snow

Salem, Utah

Oil

10 x 6 5/8 inches

A petty officer records the sequence of events for a fire drill that took place aboard the Coast 

Guard Cutter Gallatin. Because there are no police or fire stations at sea, crews perform numerous 

emergency drills while underway in order to prepare themselves for a real emergency. Homeported in Charleston, S.C., the Gallatin is a 378-foot high endurance cutter that performs myriad missions including migrant and drug interdictions, homeland security patrols, search and rescue, and 

fisheries enforcement.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201522

About the artist

Tyson Snow graduated at the top of his class from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He began exhibiting his 

work in 2004. The artist’s earlier work consisted primarily of complex drawings. Due to a compelling

desire to create in different media, Snow subsequently began sculpting in clay, casting in bronze and

painting in oils. His work has been accepted into several museums and juried art exhibitions where he

has been the recipient of first place ribbons, merit awards and purchase awards for his sculpture, paintings and drawings. He has also been selected as a semi-finalist and winner of several public works 

bronze monuments commissions. Snow was a finalist for the "Cover Art Competition" in the American

Artist Magazine (drawing issue). He was also featured in the American Art Collector Magazine a number of times, as well as other publications and newspapers. His works are held in public and private collections around the world.
Coast Guard Art Program

2016 Reception and Acceptance Ceremony

July 5, 2016

Salmagundi Club

New York City

6:30 p.m.

Viewing of Art and Reception

Music by Musician Chief Barrett Seals, oboe, and Musician First Class Laurie Baynard, flute

Coast Guard Band

7:15 p.m.

Opening Remarks

Robert Pillsbury, President, Salmagundi Club

Emcee Capt. Sean Carroll

Chief, External Outreach & Heritage Division

Presentation of Colors and Pledge of Allegiance*

Invocation*

Chaplain Donna Cole

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary

Introduction of Guests

Capt. Carroll

Comments from New York Council of the Navy League President

Ted Mason, Capt. USN (Ret.)

Comments from COGAP Committee Chair, Salmagundi Club

Karen Loew

Presentation of Art to U.S. Coast Guard

Robert Pillsbury

Acceptance of Art by U.S. Coast Guard

Admiral Charles Michel

Vice Commandant

Presentation of Public Service Awards and

George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence

Closing Remarks

Capt. Carroll

Benediction*

Chaplain Cole

*Guests Please Stand
ABOUT THE COAST GUARD ART PROGRAM

The Coast Guard Art Program (COGAP) makes use of fine art to educate diverse audiences about the 

Coast Guard. Today, more than ever, the service addresses an abundance of challenges as it works to 

maintain the nation’s security at home and abroad and executes its 11 statutory missions. COGAP art 

provides visual testimony to the unique contribution the service makes to the nation in its multifaceted 

roles as a military, humanitarian and law enforcement organization. Art from the program is exhibited 

at museums around the country. It is displayed in offices of members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, 

senior government officials and other military services and Coast Guard locations nationwide. It is also 

being displayed in the residences of two U.S. ambassadors by the State Department in its prestigious Art 

in Embassies program. These works are used for public diplomacy projects.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the art program which has continuously been sponsored by the 

Salmagundi Club since its inception. Today, the collection holds nearly 1,9500 of art. While pieces 

received earlier tended to portray Coast Guard assets and history, more recent works capture the experience of actual service in the Coast Guard. COGAP’s talented corps of volunteer artists—most of whom 

are professional artists—brings to life the missions performed daily by the 40,075 active-duty men and 

women of the service, as well as reservists and Auxiliary members. 

The 2016 collection is comprised of 26 works by 24 artists and offers a wide-ranging view of the Service’s missions and contributions. Many of the new works depict search and rescue missions. Others 

show rigorous exercises involving Maritime Security Response and Maritime Safety and Security 

Teams. Several works concern Coast Guard drug interdiction efforts in the Western Hemisphere. Fleet 

Week in New York City, the Coast Guard Quintet reaching out to D.C.-area school children, and a tribute in memory of the victims of the Titanic’s sinking in l912.

ABOUT THE SALMAGUNDI CLUB, COGAP’S PARTNER ORGANIZATION

For more than 140 years, the Salmagundi Club has served as a center for artists from New York and 

around the country. It offers exhibitions of paintings, sculpture and photography, conducts art classes, 

painting demonstrations and holds auctions of member artists’ work throughout the year. While members are mainly residents of the greater New York City metropolitan area, Salmagundians are to be 

found throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in cities overseas including London, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

Originally formed as the New York Sketch Club in 1871, the club adopted its present name over 100 

years ago from Washington Irving’s Salmagundi Papers, a satirical and urbane periodical Irving coauthored.

Through the years, the club has been the gathering place for important artists such as Childe Hassam, 

William Merritt Chase, Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Charles Dana Gibson, Ogden Pleisner and many 

others. Honorary members have included Sir Winston Churchill, Buckminster Fuller, Paul Cadmus, Al 

Hirschfeld, Thomas Hoving and Schuyler Chapin.

The Salmagundi Club is located at 47 Fifth Avenue between East 11th and East 12th Streets. To learn 

more, please visit the club’s website at www.salmagundi.org or call 202-255-7740. 

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THE GEORGE GRAY AWARD

Named for the co-founder of the Coast Guard Art Program, the George Gray Award recognizes Coast Guard 

artists for outstanding artistic achievement. One artist 

from the 2015 collection contributors will be named 

winner of this award.

George Gray worked as an artist for over seven decades. 

A muralist and illustrator, he specialized in historical 

and military themes. Love of country compelled him to 

enlist in the Coast Guard during World War II. During 

the Vietnam War, he spent six weeks sketching Marines 

in action for the U.S. Navy’s fine art program. He cofounded COGAP in 1981 and served as its chairman 

and tireless champion for over 20 years. Born in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1907, he is a direct descendent of Capt. 

Robert Gray, who, in 1788, became the first American 

to carry the nation’s flag around the world. He died in 

2004 at the age of 96. George Gray

drawing by James Dyekman

JURORS FOR THE GEORGE GRAY AWARD

Admiral Charles Michel, 30th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, is second in command of the Service and its Chief Operating Officer. As such, he executes the Commandant's Strategic Intent, manages 

internal organizational governance and serves as the Component Acquisition Executive. His other flaglevel assignments include Deputy Commandant for Operations; Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area; Director, Joint Interagency Task Force South; Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security; and Director of Coast Guard Governmental and Public Affairs. A much decorated officer, 

he has been awarded the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, 

the Legion of Merit and several other personal awards. He was the American Bar Association Young 

Lawyer of the Year for the Service in 1995, the Judge Advocate's Association Career Armed Services 

Attorney of the Year for the Coast Guard in 2000, and is currently a member of the Florida Bar.

Salmagundi Club President Robert Pillsbury is a gifted artist who works in many media. His art has 

been in numerous shows and is widely collected. He has been club president for three years. Prior to 

this, he served for four years as the club’s first vice-president. Mr. Pillsbury provided invaluable guidance for this year’s collection by serving as one of the jurors of the Excellence Committee which reviews new submissions for possible acceptance into the collection. His keen artistic judgments helped 

enormously in the selection process. 

Artist and teacher Thomas Valenti works in watercolor and oil. His art has been widely exhibited and is 

held in numerous private and public collections. His work has been featured in many articles and he is 

the recipient of numerous major awards in national and international juried competitions. Since 2007, 

he has been president of Allied Artists of America, a respected American art organization with members 

throughout the world. He is also a founding member of the America China Oil Painting Artists League. 

He is an honorary member of the Salmagundi Club and an elected member of the New Jersey Watercolor Society. Mr. Valenti teaches privately and at schools in Bergen County, N.J. The Bronx-born artist is 

a graduate of the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art.

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INTERCEPT

Stratton Drug Interdiction (above)

Leendert van der Pool

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Oil

20 x 24 inches

Coast Guardsmen from the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton homeported in Alameda, Calif., unload narcotics from a 

smuggling vessel they intercepted in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201623

Abandoned!

Steve Lush

North Andover, Mass.

Watercolor

14 x 21 inches

Crewmembers aboard the Coast 

Guard Cutter Tampa's deployable 

response boat tow an intercepted “gofast" vessel back to the ship. The 

Coast Guard Cutter Confidence 

seized 1,100 pounds of marijuana and 

detained six suspected smugglers 

from the go-fast vessel before transferring the vessel, the drugs, and the 

detainees to the Tampa. Go-fasts, so 

named for their ability to reach high 

speeds, are difficult to detect by radar 

and difficult to intercept using conventional craft.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201613
Interdiction 

Chuck Van Horn

Glen Head, N.Y.

Watercolor

22 x 30 inches

In summer 2015, the Coast Guard National Security Cutter Stratton intercepted a 

semi-submersible boat loaded with approximately 16,000 pounds of cocaine. 

Before the craft sank, the cutter’s crew 

was able to offload more than 12,000 

pounds of the drug which had an estimated street value of $181 million. It is estimated to be the largest such seizure of its 

kind. Funded heavily by the drug cartels, 

narcotics are smuggled into the Western 

Hemisphere by using these semisubmersibles, which are designed to ride 

only inches above the water to avoid 

detection by radar.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201624

Baja California Intercept

Dino Sistilli

Woodbury, N.J.

Oil

16 x 20 inches

Coast Guard crewmembers from the 87

-foot Cutter Petrel homeported in San 

Diego intercept a suspected drug smuggling boat and crew in international 

waters off the coast of Baja California, 

Mexico. The suspects and boat were 

turned over to Mexican authorities for 

prosecution.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201621

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DAMAGE CONTROL

Fire Inspection Team

Amy DiGi

Yonkers, N.Y.

Oil

16 12 inches

A Coast Guard marine science technician and a member 

of the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Incident Management Division inspect the scene of a fire at a marina on 

Lake Union near Seattle. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound 

personnel used money in the Oil Spill Liability Trust 

Fund (OSLTF) to pay a contractor to clean up any spilled 

oil. OSLFT, created in 1986, was not authorized until 

1990 with the passage of the Oil Pollution Act.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201607

Tribute to Coast Guard Firefighters

Peter DeWeerdt

Tucson, Ariz.

Oil 

32 x 20 inches

A damage controlman (DC)—the rate of Coast Guard firefighters—assigned to cutters is responsible for watertight integrity; 

emergency equipment associated with firefighting and flooding; 

plumbing repairs; welding fabrication and repairs; chemical, 

biological and nuclear-warfare detection; and decontamination. 

DCs are known as the service’s "Jack of all trades" and are stationed throughout the Coast Guard, including aboard all major 

cutters, buoy tenders, and river tenders. They also serve on land 

at Coast Guard stations, bases, and facilities .

Coast Guard Art Collection 201606

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INSPECTIONS: LITTLE BOATS, BIG SHIPS

Reflected Action

Louis Stephen Gadal

Los Angeles, Calif.

Watercolor

14 x 20 inches

The small boat from the Coast 

Guard Cutter Swordfish inspects a 

recreational boat in Puget Sound and 

makes the water a kaleidoscope of 

color and a mosaic of reflections. 

The 87-foot Swordfish is a patrol 

boat homeported at Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash. The vessel 

performs a variety of missions including maritime law enforcement, 

search and rescue, and protecting 

living marine resources such as endangered species. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 201608

Preparing to Launch

Anne Kullaf

Oldwick, N.J.

Pastel

15 x 11 inches

Crewmembers of Coast Guard Cutter Haddock prepare 

to launch their small boat from the ship’s stern notch to 

conduct a security boarding of a Hong Kong-flagged 

tanker off the coast of San Diego. As part of their role 

in maritime security, boarding teams inspect ships for 

proper documentation and any safety or security hazards.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201611

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ON MISSION

Sea Smoke

Terrence Maley

Burke, Va.

Oil

24 x 30 inches

Coast Guard Cutters Shackle and 

Tackle break ice along the Penobscot 

River in Brewer, Maine. Both 65-

foot cutters broke through the nearly 

20-inch thick ice to allow open water 

to flow. Sea smoke, the mist rising 

from the water, forms when the water 

temperature is warmer than the surrounding air. Here the mist settles in 

the swells and obscures the hills in the 

distance.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201615

High Speed Turn

James Consor

New York, N.Y.

Oil

18 x 36 inches

The Coast Guard Cutter Shamal is shown executing a rapid turn in the Straits of Florida. While 

in service, it was often deployed in support of Coast Guard District 7, to conduct search and 

rescue, migrant interdiction and counter-narcotics operations and patrols. Decommissioned in 

2011, the cutter was named for a wind occurring in the Persian Gulf.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201602

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TRAINING

Fleet Week New York

James Consor

New York, N.Y.

Oil

24 x 30 inches

The Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish escorted 

U.S. naval warships into New York Harbor 

during Fleet Week in 2015. This annual 

seven-day event celebrates both domestic 

and international maritime services and 

draws thousands of visitors. The Coast 

Guard uses events like Fleet Week to interact with the public, educating and informing 

visitors about the service's missions and 

objectives. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 201603

Vertical Insertion Training with a K-9 Service 

Member

Frank Gaffney

Mountlake Terrace, Wash.

Oil

16 x 20 inches

Members of the Coast Guard Maritime Security 

Response Team (MSRT), based in Chesapeake, Va., 

lower a Coast Guard dog to the Cutter Frank Drew 

during vertical insertion training in Chesapeake Bay. 

MSRTs and Maritime Safety and Security Teams are 

domestic security and antiterrorism units that were 

created in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201609

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First Escort

C. R. (Bob) Bryant

Gig Harbor, Wash.

Oil

18 x 24 inches

During practice exercises off the coast 

of Honolulu, a school of spinner dolphins, with a new born energetically 

porpoising out of the water, approached a 45-foot response boatmedium (RB-M) . Spinner dolphins 

are so named for their acrobatic displays as they spin while leaping 

through the air. RB-M crews perform 

multiple Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue; ports, waterways and coastal security; law enforcement; and drug and migrant interdiction .

Coast Guard Art Collection 201601

Man Overboard Drill

Susanne Corbelletta

Glen Head, N.Y.

Oil

10 x 11 inches

A boatswain's mate keeps vigilant watch as 

she participates in a man overboard drill 

aboard a 25-foot Response Boat at Station 

Shinnecock in Hamptons Bay, N.Y. Crews 

undergo rigorous training to ensure they can 

respond to distress calls and maritime 

emergencies. The station’s other missions 

include law enforcement and homeland 

security.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201604

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Vertical Insertion

Mara Sfara

Farmington, Conn.

Oil

20 x 16

Boarding team members from a Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) in Galveston, 

Texas, are hoisted into an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter after conducting a vertical insertion exercise. Vertical insertion permits highly rapid 

deployment of law enforcement personnel onto 

potentially hostile vessels and minimizes their 

risk of being shot or otherwise wounded. 

MSSTs are deployable units specializing in 

waterborne and shore-side antiterrorism force 

protection for strategic, high-interest vessels 

and critical infrastructure. They were created 

under the Maritime Transportation Security Act 

of 2002 and in direct response to the Sept. 11 

terrorist attacks.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201620

Ready!

Crissie Murphy

Lowell, Mass.

Acrylic

16 x 20 inches

The Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT) from Chesapeake, 

Va., participates in a training evolution in 

Hyannis, Mass. The highly trained and 

specialized team used a real-world underway ferry to practice tactical boardings-atsea, active shooter scenarios, and detection 

of radiological material. MSRTs are a 

short-notice, threat-tailored, maritime response force designed to deter, protect 

against, and respond to threats of maritime 

terrorism and to higher-risk criminal law 

enforcement threats on the water or in a 

port.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201616

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SEMPER PARATUS

Buoy Drop

Tom Hedderich

Westtown, N.Y.

Watercolor

14 x 12.5 inches

A service member from the Coast Guard Cutter 

George Cobb sits atop a buoy as the cutter approaches the San Francisco Bay Bridge during 

Fleet Week. The crew of the cutter, a 175-foot 

buoy tender homeported in Long Beach, Calif., 

set a series of temporary buoys in the San Francisco Bay to be used during the Fleet Week festivities.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201610

Buoy Maintenance 

Robert Tandecki

Sumner, Wash.

Watercolor

10 x 14 inches

Coast Guard Cutter Maple, a 225-

foot Juniper-class buoy tender, 

patrols the inland waters of Southeast Alaska, an area that covers 

1,000 miles of intricate waterways. 

While on patrol the Maple conducts 

search and rescue operations, fisheries law enforcement, pollution 

response, and aids to navigation. 

Here the cutter is en route to perform maintenance on a buoy temporarily occupied by a seal.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201622

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Retrofit

Steve Lush

North Andover, Mass.

Watercolor

14 x 21 inches

Medium Endurance Cutter Tampa sits high and dry at the 

Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Md. The cutter underwent a 

nine-month systems refurbishment and a comprehensive integrated logistic overhaul. Tampa is homeported in Portsmouth, Va. It normally deploys on 45- to 60-day patrols 

followed by similar periods in port. Its missions include 

counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, homeland security, and fisheries law enforcement.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201614

SAVING LIVES

Hoist Training

MK3 Jasen Newman

Port Angeles, Wash.

Watercolor

24 x 24 inches

Crew members aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat 

(MLB) from Station Bodega Bay in California 

handle a rescue litter during hoist training. 

MBLs and their crews must withstand hurricaneforce winds and seas upwards of 20 feet. Surf 

stations are required where waves greater than 

eight feet occur 36 days or more per year. There 

are 20 Coast Guard surf stations, with the majority being on the Pacific coast.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201617

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The Wave

Hugh O’Connor

Grosse Pointe, Mich.

Acrylic

12 x 18 inches

A crewmember aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment in Washington battles the spray of 

heavy seas as he navigates the surf boat. The 

station is one of only 20 Coast Guard surf 

stations. Crews undergo rigorous training to 

ensure that they are prepared to respond to 

distress calls and maritime emergencies during 

storms that create high and very turbulent seas.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201618

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Guardians of the Sea

Robert C. Semler

Bradenton, Fla.

Oil

24 x 18 inches

The crew of a 47-foot motor lifeboat (MLB) rescues a survivor of a ship disaster as a threatening storm approaches. A 

Dolphin HH-65 helicopter hovers overhead with air crew 

waiting to hoist the survivor aboard. In the distance, a second MLB approaches the scene to assist in rescue efforts.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201619
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Spinning Up

Karen Loew

New York, N.Y.

Oil

16 x 20 inches

An aviation survival technician—better known as a rescue swimmer—gets hoisted into an 

MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. A Coast Guard rescue involves split second decision making and requires precise coordination between the rescue 

swimmer and the helicopter crew.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201612

Rescue in Humboldt Bay

John T. Ward

Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Acrylic

17 x 24 inches

Two petty officers support a rescue victim as 

they await the arrival of a Coast Guard helicopter. The victim, who had been swept off a jetty, 

had to be carried over slippery and irregular 

terrain while he and the rescue party withstood 

pounding 20-foot waves. The victim sustained 

multiple injuries; nevertheless, he made a full 

recovery. The petty officer on the far right, 

Michael Leavitt, went on to become the 11th 

Master Chief Petty Office of the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201625
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Titanic’s Legacy 

Ron Weil

Tualatin, Ore.

Acrylic

28x 22 inches

In 1912, White Star Line’s RMS Titanic, on her maiden 

voyage, struck an iceberg off Newfoundland and sank, 

claiming more than 1,500 lives. To prevent a similar tragedy, the International Ice Patrol was formed in 1913 to track 

icebergs drifting into shipping lanes. Here, a C-130J, 

based at Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., patrols off Newfoundland, reporting the location of the drifting ice. Every 

year the Coast Guard drops memorial wreaths over the site, 

honoring those who perished. The Titanic’s ghost is seen 

in the waters below.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201626

The Music Lesson

Chris Demarest

On national tour

Oil

30 x 30 inches

Students of a Washington, D.C., school 

show rapt attention as members of the 

U.S. Coast Guard Woodwind Quintet 

demonstrate how to play the oboe and 

flute. The Band’s various ensembles, 

including the Woodwind Quintet, frequently perform at schools to educate 

children and young adults about such 

topics as math, science, music and the 

Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201605

IN MEMORIUM

REACHING OUT