Largest Collection of Maritime Art

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, has the largest collection of maritime artworks in the world.

It holds 100,000 books, 397,500 manuscripts, 4000 oil paintings, 90,000 sea charts, 70,000 prints and drawings, a million ship plans, 280,000 photographic negatives, 1 million historic photographs, 44,478 3D objects, including ship models, decorative art, figureheads, relics, horological instruments, weapons, uniforms, coins, and naval medals.

For those interested in maritime trade, history, and seafaring cultures, no place is more significant than this museum, which is a repository of the most unique artefacts.

The museum’s vast collection of more than 2 million items tells us about the history of Britain at sea and its global impact.

The collection is notable for its scale and significance.

The 17th-century Dutch and Flemish seascapes found in the museum are perhaps the best in the world.

It comprises more than 400 works by Willem van de Veldes, the Elder and the Younger. These artists lived and worked in Greenwich, and were quite meticulous in their depiction of naval battles, ship portraits and the daily life of seafarers, including scenes of fishing and coastal life. Their detailed paintings and drawings offer an incredible record of the period’s naval power and maritime history.

Among the British works depicting naval and travel themes, J.M.W. Turner’s ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’, 21 October 1805, is quite famous. People especially visit to have a look at this amazing piece of maritime art.

This painting is his largest and also the most controversial. It captures the chaos and drama of the vital battle and is an iconic representation of a defining moment, though it was met with scrutiny initially from naval men and art traditionalists who wanted a more straightforward and clear depiction of the scene.

The travels collection has paintings by William Hodges and John Webber, who went with Captain Cook on his journeys to the Pacific and recorded what they encountered. Their works are the first western depictions of the indigenous people, landscape and wildlife from these lands.

The portraits collection includes famous portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I in the Armada Portrait, as well as many depictions of figures like Captain James Cook and Admiral Horatio Nelson.

The museum has a vast collection related to Nelson with over 700 items, including the coat he wore when he was shot at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The museum also acquires contemporary works from time to time. Yinka Shonibare CBE’s “Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle” is an example, along with a replica of HMS Victory in a giant bottle.

Apart from ship paintings, the museum’s collection of about 3500 ship models is one of the finest, ranging from Egyptian vessels to modern naval vessels. These models, along with an archive of original ship plans, are precious for historians and naval enthusiasts.

The collection of navigational instruments and relics tells many stories of adventure and tragedy at sea. There are astrolobes and sextants, and also a pocket watch recovered from a victim of the Titanic accident.

The Polar collection is also vast, with artefacts from early Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, including those of Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

The museum is also said to be the world’s biggest maritime library and archive, having more than 100,000 books, 20,000 pamphlets and a vast collection of charts, manuscripts and maps.

It is a vital tool for researchers and a testament to the museum’s commitment to preserving maritime history for generations to come.

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About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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