The Staten Island Museum has over one hundred art works that depict the ferry, and the list increases each year. Artists include: Cecil C. Bell, Madison M. Esterly, John Sloan Jr., Mike Falco, and Griselda Healy. The Boat offers artists an excellent opportunity to tackle New York City's harborscape. Many of the images in this online collection are currently on display in our exhibit.

Painter William H. Powell's portrait of George Law depicts a successful self-made engineer and businessman who was once the owner of the Brooklyn and Staten Island Ferries and the Staten Island Rail Road. Creating the hub that would connect railroad and ferry, Erastus Wiman needed his help in the late 1800s and promised to have the area named after him: St. George.

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Portrait of George Law
William Henry Powell, American 1823 - 1879
Oil on Canvas, 1856
Museum Purchase
A2006.1

John Sloan, the noted American artist, captured New York City life through his etchings. The diverse characters on the rolling deck of this ferry epitomize the sense of "living theatre" of the ride.

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Wake on the Ferry
John Sloan, American 1871 - 1951
Etching on paper, 1947
A1972.30.17

Cecil Crosley Bell was born in Seattle, Washington, but from 1942 until his death in 1970, Bell lived in Tompkinsville, Staten Island - a short walk from the ferry terminal. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute and later at the Arts Student's League in Manhattan, which meant a daily ferry commute. Recognized for depicting rhythmic urban crowds, Bell's Ferry images evoke a gentle charm of the workaday ferry operation and commuter life that have changed little over the years.

The following painting captures the boisterous New York Harbor where the young Cecil Crosley Bell arrived as a young man. The harbor scene nearly tumbles out of its frame, as rolling tug boats, steam ferries, airplanes, and small craft greet the luxury liner Queen Mary. Bell's painting makes clear that snowy weather and high seas does not stop the Staten Island Ferry from her daily routine.

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Welcoming the Queen Mary on her Maiden Voyage, 1936-38
Cecil Crosley Bell, American 1906 - 1970
Oil on canvas
Inv - 7

For the next drawings Cecil C. Bell used pencil, crayon, pastel, and gauche and watercolor to depict fellow passengers and views from the ferry. The Staten Island Ferry was an ideal 25-minute drawing studio for Bell, he light was remarkable, a variety of views was always available, and we assume the models didn't charge him a penny. Using small pieces of paper, the backs of envelopes, whatever was available, Bell captured his neighbors in their daily rituals as they traveled to and from Manhattan.

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Various Untitled Works
Cecil Crosley Bell, American 1906 - 1970
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Gift of Mrs. Agatha Bell from the Estate of Cecil C. Bell
A1977.1525.

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Shine! Staten Island Ferry
Cecil Crosley Bell, American 1906 - 1970
Gouache on board, 1944
Gift of Agatha Bell
A1972.30.21

Ned Gannon chooses to paint spaces that evoke tensions, and is especially attracted to the transitory "in-between" places that people pass through. In this regard, the Staten Island Ferry was an ideal subject. Gannon used his deft ability to create space with luminous hues in each of these small square gems. Gannon lived and worked on Staten Island for seven years, and currently teaches in the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.

Gannon's deft brush work captures atmosphere of the Kennedy class boats main deck.

Disembarking
Ned Gannon, American
Oil on Linen, 2004
Staten Island Museum Purchase
A2005.3.3

Sunlight flooding across empty orange plastic seats of a Barberi class ferry makes the ordinarily garish setting positively beautiful.

Crossing
Ned Gannon, American
Oil on Linen, 2004
Staten Island Museum Purchase
A2005.3.4

Working as a freelance photographer Michael Falco's photographs have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, and Essence. He published with author Jonathan Tilove Along Martin Luther King: Travels on America's Main Street. Commissioned by the NYC, his photographic glass mural will be installed in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal as part of the Percent for Art project.

This fine panoramic view of New York Harbor prior to the World Trade Center disaster was taken from the deck of the American Legion Ferry. Mr. Falco's work captures places and moments with powerful emotional resonance, and technical beauty.

Raised in New York City, Landon Nordeman began photographing while he was a student at The University of Virginia. After graduating in 1997, Landon worked for two daily newspapers: The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA) and The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA). Landon then attended The School of Visual Communication at Ohio University (Athens, OH), from which he received his master's degree, and completed photographic internships at The Concord Monitor (Concord, NH) and the National Geographic Magazine (Washington, DC). The Staten Island Museum featured his works in the exhibition Landon Nordeman: Voyage on the Staten Island Ferry from September 19, 2003 through January 11, 2004.

Griselda Healy was born in Long Island, NY, but lived and painted on Staten Island for more than a decade (the early 1990's until 2006). Her work includes both landscape and figurative painting. Entranced by the ferry ride, with its changing light and colors, this piece is the first in a series with the Staten Island Ferry as a backdrop for figurative studio work. Healy has built the image with the vibrant colors, and created a curious ambivalance between the subjects. Her work strives to evoke the psychological release of "in between time" which the ferry offers its riders.

Passing Brooklyn
Griselda Healy
Oil on linen, 2003
On long-term loan from the Artist

The Staten Island Ferry
Griselda Healy
Oil on canvas, 1997
Gift of the Artist, 2006

Edward Landon was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1911. While not specifically the Staten Island Ferry this abstract silk screen print interprets the people-moving vessel in a distinctly modern way.

Ferry Boat
Edward Landon
Serigraph on paper, 1952
Gift of the National Serigraph Society, A1956.87

John Depol grew up on Hudson and Barrow Streets in Manhattan and had fond memories of all the many ferries that that were active when he was a boy. This engraving is specifically the Hudson Street ferry that serviced Weehawken, New Jersey.

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Homeward Ferry
John Depol
Wood engraving on paper, 1957
Gift of Eldridge Peterson, A1959.2

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When It Was Only a Nickel
Fran D'Atria Romano
Etching, ink on paper, 1982
Gift of the Artist, 2005

Artifacts:

The Staten Island Museum's collection includes Pressure Gauges, Models of the Ferries, Nickel Machines, Boat Plaques and Signs, and Coin Changers. Here is a small sampling:

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Invitation: "The City of New York requests the honor of the presence at the ceremonies on the occasion of the commencement of Operation of Municipal Ferries - Wednesday the 25^th of October 1905."
Collection of the Staten Island Museum:
Gift of Margaret Egan.
Photo by Flint Gennari.

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Pulley, rigging device
Maker and date unknown
Collection of the Staten Island Museum:
Gift of Captain Theodore Costa, Staten Island Ferry Maritime Museum.
Inv - 307/1509.
Photo by Flint Gennari.

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Carmine Rizzo Shoe Shine Box with contents
Collection of the Staten Island Museum:
Gift of Carmine Rizzo & Department of Transportation
January 2000.
Photo by Flint Gennari.