Coast Guard Art Program

2017 Collection

Cosponsored by the United States Coast Guard and the Salmagundi Club

Guardians of the Sea

2016 George Gray Award Recipient

Robert C. Semler

Oil

Inaugural Exhibition: July 16—July 28, 2017

Salmagundi Club

New York City 
The U.S. Coast Guard and its art program thank the New York 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:

Guardians of the Sea

2016 George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence Recipient

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.

About the artist

Art has been not only a profession but also a way of life for Robert C. Semler. After studying 

portrait and figure art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, he spent 

28 years in illustration and publishing until making the decision in 1992 to paint full time. He 

works primarily in oil and occasionally in watercolor and gouache and is also accomplished in 

commissioned portraits. A Coast Guard Art Program member for over 34 years, Robert has 

contributed 15 paintings to its permanent collection and a mural of the Coast Guard Cutter 

Eagle to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. He has been awarded the George 

Gray Award for Artistic Excellence four times with the latest being in July 2016. A Signature 

Member of the American Society of Marine Artists for 30 years, Robert served as its president 

for five years and was a long time member of its board of directors. His works have appeared in 

several books on marine art, including “Painting Ships, Shores and the Sea,” North Light 

Books; “A Gallery of Marine Art,” Rockport Publishers; “Bound for Blue Water,” Greenwich 

Workshop Press and “SS United States, the Fastest Ship in the World,” Turner Publishing. 

Robert’s studio and residence are located in Bradenton on the west coast of Florida.
Coast Guard to the Rescue

Lifeline

Ken Smith

Pulaski, Va.

Oil

30 x 22.5 inches

Two female Coast Guard service members on a 

response boat medium from Station Emerald Isle in 

Beaufort, N.C., coil lines that are used to 

retrieve victims from the water. The Coast Guard 

maintains a high state of vigilance and

continuously monitors for distress calls. It

coordinates search and rescue efforts by afloat and 

airborne Coast Guard units, response efforts on waterways, renders aid to the merchant fleet and tracks 

international satellite-aided programs.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201726

In good hands

Charles Van Horn

Glen Head, N.Y.

Watercolor

22 x 30 inches

When the worst flooding in over 

100 years overwhelmed 

Clendenin, W. Va., and surrounding areas, the Coast Guard 

Marine Safety Unit Huntington 

rushed in to rescue residents. 

The unit transported victims to 

safety from isolated areas, responded to 911 calls and when 

possible, brought drinking water 

to 

residents.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201730

4

Note: All measures are height by length
Stranded

Juliette Aristides

Seattle, Wash.

Oil

18 x 24 inches

The Coast Guard is the country’s 

lead agency for maritime search 

and rescue—a mission for which 

the service is undoubtedly most 

famous. A distressed vessel in 

frigid Alaskan waters awaits rescue 

as Coast Guard service members in 

an approaching craft signal their 

imminent arrival. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201702

No step

Susanne Corbelletta

Glen Head, N.Y.

Oil

18 x 18 inches

Aviation survival technicians—better known as 

rescue swimmers—serve as go-to assets for 

rescuing victims of maritime incidents. Their 

training and medical expertise allow them to not 

only save people from treacherous waters but 

also to provide much needed critical medical 

care once the victims are safely

aboard the helicopter.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201708

5
Jayhawk

Steve Lush

North Andover, Mass.

Watercolor

14 x 21 inches

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter—

painted orange in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Coast Guard aviation—and its crew from 

Air Station Clearwater, Fla., perform preflight 

checks just before taking off for a medical emergency. The Coast Guard is the lead agency for 

maritime search and rescue in U.S. waters. It aims 

to cut suffering and loss of life and property by 

aiding those in distress. In an average year, the 

service conducts 16,425 search and rescue cases 

and saves 3,650 lives and over

$43 million in property.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201718

Search and Rescue in San Francisco

Mara Sfara

Farmington, Conn.

Oil

12 x 12 inches

Coast Guard rescue swimmers from Coast Guard Air 

Station San Francisco patrol waters near the Golden Gate 

Bridge. Search and rescue is one of the Coast Guard's 

oldest missions: Minimizing the loss of life, injury, and 

property damage by rendering aid to persons in distress 

and property in the maritime environment is a top

priority. The service is recognized worldwide as a leader 

in the field of search and rescue.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201724

6

Towing the Lady Gudny

Priscilla Messner-Patterson

Sequim, Wash.

Watercolor

16 x 20 inches

When the fishing vessel Lady Gudny became disabled in heavy seas, Coast Guard 

Air Station Kodiak was called to its rescue. 

Four people were hoisted to safety aboard 

an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and transported to the air station. The Coast Guard 

Cutter Spar, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, arrived on scene the following day and 

prepared to bring the distressed fishing vessel into tow. However, its towline separated, causing the cutter to become disabled.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201720
Ready to replace

James Consor

New York, N.Y.

Oil

24 x 30 inches

A weathered buoy waiting to be 

cleaned is on the deck of the 

Katherine Walker, a 175-foot 

black hull buoy tender. On either 

side are freshly painted replacement buoys. The many feet of 

heavy chain on deck reveal the 

complicated process involved in 

anchoring a buoy.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201706

Retrieving channel markers

Daven Anderson

St. Louis, Mo.

Watercolor

20.6 x 26.8 inches

The Coast Guard is the principal 

U.S. federal agency responsible 

for maritime safety and security. 

With some 152 vessels dedicated 

to aids to navigation, the service 

maintains the more than 47,000 

buoys, lights and beacons that 

make up the visual component of 

that system. Here, a service 

member regards the Coast Guard 

Cutter Cheyenne while work 

progresses on the Missouri River 

near St. Louis.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201701

7

Aids to Navigation
Set the buoy

Frank Gaffney

Mountlake Terrace, 

 Wash.

Oil

16 x 20 inches

Crew from the Coast Guard Cutter 

Kukui launches a navigation buoy 

after it is serviced. Named after the 

state tree of Hawaii whose nut oil 

was once used to light navigation 

lamps, the Kukui is a 225-foot 

seagoing buoy tender. Homeported in Honolulu, the Kukui is 

equipped with a global positioning 

system that permits the crew to 

service and accurately position 

floating aids to navigation. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201710

Releasing the crane

James Consor

New York, N.Y.

Oil

30 x 24 inches

Crew on the buoy tender Katherine Walker in 

the Kill Van Kull Channel release a crane from 

a buoy that has just been hauled aboard the 

cutter. The crew will determine if the buoy 

should be cleaned or, if in irreparable shape, 

replaced. The channel is between New York 

Harbor and Newark Bay. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 201707

8
Interdictions at Sea

Delivery at sea

Anne Kullaf

Lebanon, N.J.

Oil

12 x 16 inches

Crew members aboard the Coast 

Guard Cutter Active practice 

vertical replenishment from an 

MH-65 Dolphin helicopter. This 

is a method of delivering supplies to a cutter at sea. The 

Active was on counter-narcotics 

deployment in the Pacific Ocean. 

On an average day, the Coast 

Guard seizes 874 pounds of cocaine and 214 pounds of marijuana. The cutter is homeported in

Port Angeles, Wash.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201716

Migrants at sea

Karen Loew

New York, N.Y.

Oil

12 x 12 inches

Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter 

Kathleen Moore, a fast response cutter, assist 

Cuban nationals off their hand-made boat in 

the Caribbean Sea. The Coast Guard is 

tasked with enforcing immigration law at sea. 

Its migrant interdiction operations are as 

much humanitarian efforts as they are law 

enforcement missions. In fact, the majority 

of migrant interdiction cases actually begin 

as search and rescue missions and usually on 

the high seas rather than in 

U.S. coastal waters.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201717

9
Driller on the Chukchi Sea

Dino Sistilli

Woodbury, N.J.

Oil

14 x 18 inches

NASA scientists drill holes in a 

melting pond of ice on the 

Chukchi Sea. These will be used 

for instruments to sample physical, 

chemical and biological data of 

ocean and sea ice. The Coast Guard 

routinely aids scientists in the polar 

regions as they study the effects of 

melting ice and global climate 

change. In the distance, the Coast 

Guard Cutter Healy awaits the 

scientists’ return.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201725

Arctic drop

MK2 Jasen Newman

Port Angeles, Wash.

Oil

18 x 24 inches

Coast Guard aircrew members 

from Coast Guard Air Station 

Kodiak, Alaska, deploy two weather data-collecting probes from an 

HC-130 Hercules airplane above 

the Arctic Circle during an Arctic 

domain awareness flight. The 

probes give researchers and the 

Coast Guard a better understanding 

of Arctic environments and predictability statistics for the following year's summer.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201722

10

Arctic Exploration and Conservation
On patrol

Paul Smith

Philadelphia, Pa.

Oil

24 x 20 inches

A member of the Coast Guard Maritime Security 

Response Team (MSRT) stands watch over a 

secured area. MSRTs are a highly specialized 

resource with advanced counterterrorism skills and 

tactics. Members are trained to be first responders to 

potential terrorist situations. They also 

educate other forces on Coast Guard 

counterterrorism procedures.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201727

Heading out in District Nine

Kristin Hosbein

St. Joseph, Mich.

Oil

10 x 20 inches

A 45-foot medium response boat pilotted by a female service member heads to Lake Michigan in front of 

District Nine Coast Guard Station St. Joseph, on the mouth of the St. Joseph River in Michigan. The station has 

been in the same location since 1874. The brick building in the background was formerly the 9th District Armory Depot.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201712

11

On Patrol
12

Getting underway

Louis Stephen Gadal

Los Angeles, Calif.

 Watercolor

14 x 20 inches

A small boat deploys from the 

87-foot patrol boat Swordfish out 

of Port Angeles, Wash. The small 

Coast Guard vessel will check 

boats to ensure they comply with 

all safety and handling requirements. Maintaining safety is an 

important part of the Coast 

Guard’s many local duties.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201709

Inbound

Dennis Boom

Hillsboro, Ore.

Oil

15 x 30 inches

Crew aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat rides the crest of a treacherous wave while on patrol. The crew is trained to respond to 

distress calls and maritime emergencies during storms that create exceedingly high, turbulent seas with surf often over 15 feet 

in height. Surfmen are the service’s most proficient small boat operators.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201705 
Ice Rescues and Landing

Friday afternoon

Charles Gilbert Kapsner

Little Falls, Minn.

Oil

12 x 24 inches

Coast Guard Station Bayfield, Wisc., maintains a duty crew ready to respond round the clock, seven days a week to distressed 

boaters, medical emergencies in water-only accessible locations, and victims of thin ice during winter. Here a crewmember 

simulates a victim as a yellow ice rescue shuttle board is deployed to bring him back to safety. Ice teams often train multiple

times a week during winter months.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201713

13

Snow landing

Bob Blevins

Elizabethton, Tenn.

Watercolor

12 x 19 inches

A Coast Guard flight mechanic 

calls out the distance in his 

MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to 

crew on Kodiak Island as he 

prepares for an ice landing. 

These landings, rare and inherently dangerous, require skis to 

be installed to keep the helicopter’s landing gear from settling 

in the snow. They demand 

testing the strength of the ice 

before attempting. Blowing 

snow can cause loss of all visual reference with the ground, 

adding further difficulties to an 

already complex maneuver.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201703
14

Operation Taconite

Jeanne Tubman

Sault Ste. Marie, 

 Mich.

Oil

16 x 20 inches

Operation Taconite is the 

largest domestic icebreaking 

operation in the U.S. 

Shipping offers the only effective means of transporting the 

vast amounts of iron ore needed to meet the demands of 

steel mills in Lake Erie and 

Lake Michigan. Operation 

Taconite is primarily responsible for ensuring the successful 

transport of this cargo amid 

the harsh winter conditions of 

the northern Great Lakes.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201729

Ice rescue

Bob Blevins

Elizabethton, Tenn.

Watercolor

14 x 22 inches

Coast Guard crew practices ice rescue techniques during a four-day training session at the Ice Capabilities Center of Excellence

at Station Saginaw River in Essexville, Mich. Using each other as victims, a service member pulls another member from the 

freezing waters. Crews here learn the proper techniques for rescuing people on ice-covered bodies of water.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201704
15

Training to Secure

Hook and climb training

Leendert van der Pool

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Oil

24 x 18 inches

The Maritime Safety and Security Team from Galveston, Texas, conducts hook and climb training aboard 

Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane During training, 

members pull alongside the cutter, attach a collapsible 

embarkation ladder, and rapidly board the cutter and 

conduct law enforcement operations.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201731

Focused to secure

Tom Hedderich

Westtown, N.Y.

Watercolor

10 x 14 inches

A U.S. Coast Guardsman from 

Maritime Safety and Security Team 

(MSST) Honolulu practices 

entering and clearing spaces aboard 

a Navy vessel anchored at Pearl 

Harbor. The versatile MSST units 

can be assigned in support of any 

of the Coast Guard's 11 statutory 

missions, but are commonly associated with port, waterway and 

coastal security as well as other 

homeland security roles.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201711
16

Direct action

Hugh O’Connor

Grosse Pointe, Mich.

Acrylic

9.5 x 11 inches

A member of the Direction Action Section (DAS) of a Coast Guard Maritime Security Response 

Team (MSRT) participates in a training exercise aboard a ship. The highly trained DAS is tasked 

with boarding and securing a maritime objective. The MSRT is a tactical unit that specializes in 

maritime counterterrorism and high risk law enforcement. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 201723

Crossing the bar

Jim Stagner

Johnson City, Tenn.

Watercolor

15 x 22 inches

Coast Guard Station Noyo 

River crews in California 

conduct training in high surf 

to ensure they are prepared to 

respond to any maritime 

emergency during rough 

weather conditions. Part of 

the training involves “crossing 

the bar,” an exercise that replicates the Columbia River Bar 

in Washington State. Known 

as the "Graveyard of the Pacific," this bar provides an 

ideal rough weather 

training environment. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201728
Training for Damage Control

Smoke eater

Dick Kramer

Leesburg, Va.

Pencil

15 x 20 inches 

A damage controlman—the rate of a 

Coast Guard firefighter—is responsible 

for watertight integrity, emergency 

equipment associated with firefighting 

and flooding, plumbing repairs and 

numerous other emergencies. They are 

stationed across the Coast Guard on 

sea assets as well as on land.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201715

Fire drill on the Eagle

Dick Kramer

Leesburg, Va.

Pencil

20 x 30 inches

Two damage controlmen work a simulated fire aboard the Coast Guard training ship Eagle. As members of 

an extremely diverse rate, damage controlmen have the knowledge and skills of numerous civilian professional trades, including welding, plumbing, carpentry as well as firefighting. They are known throughout 

the service as the “Jack of all Trades.”

Coast Guard Art Collection 201714

 17
In Reflection

Memorial fly-by

Ron Weil

Tualatin, Ore.

Acrylic

18 x 24 inches

A C-130J from Coast Guard Air 

Station Elizabeth City, N.C., drops 

memorial wreaths over the site of 

the RMS Titanic’s grave off Newfoundland. The wreaths, supplied 

by the Titanic Historical Society, 

are thrown out every year by the 

Coast Guard while on iceberg 

patrol. The service manages the 

International Ice Patrol and during 

“ice season,” regularly patrols the 

North Atlantic shipping lanes, reporting data on icebergs. The 

International Ice Patrol, consisting 

of 13 maritime nations, was formed 

in 1913 and since that time, no 

ships or lives have been lost 

due to icebergs.

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201733

Looking to the future

Crissie Murphy

Lowell, Mass.

Acrylic

16 x 20 inches

The captain aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle enjoys 

a moment of reflection. For him the training vessel 

Eagle bares witness to the future of the service. The 

Eagle provides Coast Guard Academy cadets and officer 

candidates with their first taste of sea and salt air. Built 

in Germany in 1936 and recommissioned by the 

United States at the close of World War II, it is the 

largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes. Eagle's 

homeport is New London, Conn., on the 

Thames River at the academy.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201721

 18
The Last Flight

Last flight

John Ward

Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Acrylic

14 x 19 inches

Aviation survival 

technicians—better known as 

rescue swimmers—undergo 

some of the most rigorous 

training in the Coast Guard. 

To join their ranks, candidates 

must endure physical and 

mental challenges that rival 

those facing any potential 

Army Ranger, Navy SEAL or 

Air Force parachute rescue 

man. Here the rescue swimmer on the right is shown just 

before his retirement after a 

21-year career saving lives. 

Pictured on the left is a fellow 

rescue swimmer who’s 

avocation is photography. 

Coast Guard Art Collection 

201732

Taps

Steve Lush

North Andover, Mass.

Watercolor

21 x 14 inches

A member of the Coast Guard Honor Guard folds the American 

flag during a memorial service for a maritime enforcement specialist tragically killed in a traffic accident. The service member 

was survived by his wife and three children. His ceremony took 

place in Los Angeles.

Coast Guard Art Collection 201719