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Claimed by the Sea: Long Island Shipwrecks Year: - 2008 Claimed by the Sea: Long Island Shipwrecks Presented by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities Now through January 2009 SPLIA Gallery, Cold Spring Harbor This exhibit explores one of the most enduring themes of Long Island’s history. In the age before modern navigational aids, Long Island waters could be treacherous, particularly the ocean approaches to New York and the turbulent stretch of the East River known as Hell’s Gate. The inspiration for this exhibit came from the Society’s own collections pertaining to this subject as well as those of other regional museums. Claimed By The Sea can be viewed at our Gallery in Cold Spring Harbor through January 2009. Visitors will see a wealth of paintings, prints and artifacts depicting such well known maritime disasters as the steamboat, “Lexington,” a 19th century version of the Boston shuttle, which burned off Eaton’s Neck in 1840, the Cunard Liner “Oregon,” lost off Fire Island after a collision in 1886, the cruiser, “USS San Diego,” the only major American warship lost in the First World War and the Italian luxury liner, “Andrea Doria,” which went down in the waters between Long Island and Massachusetts, after it collided with the Swedish freighter, “Stockholm” in 1956. Also on exhibit is a model of the “Savannah,” the first steamship to cross the Atlantic which was lost off Fire Island in 1821. Sure to send a chill down your spine the section of the exhibit featuring a mast fragment and other artifacts from the Schooner, “Louis V. Place” whose crew froze in the rigging after the ice encrusted schooner grounded near Patchogue in 1895. Human drama crosses with artistic expression in this exhibit featuring lithographs by Currier & Ives and paintings by such well-known marine artists as Antonio Jacobsen, the “Audubon of Steam Vessels” and James Bard whose superb portrait of the ill-fated steamer, “Seawanhaka” is included. Institutions loaning to Claimed By The Sea include Suffolk County Historical Society (Riverhead); Long Island Maritime Museum (West Sayville); Mariners’ Museum (Newport News, VA); Museum of the City of New York; Mystic Seaport (Mystic, CT) and Naval Historical Center (Washington, D.C.); artist, Gary Viskupic and members of the local diving community including Captain John Bricker, Adam Grohman and Mark Silverstein. The SPLIA Gallery is located in Cold Spring Harbor at the corner of Route 25A and Shore Road (across from the fire house) and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11AM – 5 PM through Labor Day(Admission $1). If you have further questions, please call the Gallery at 631-367-6295 or the Society’s headquarters at (631) 692 – 4664 or visit our website at www.splia.org.

SPLIA’s Museum Gallery, at the corner of Main Street (25A) and Shore Road in Cold Spring Harbor, features changing exhibitions about Long Island’s significant cultural heritage. The Gallery’s Museum Shop has an excellent selection of books and objects related to Long Island history.

SPLIA Gallery is open daily 11am-5pm
$1 Admission
The Gallery closes for periodic exhibit changes.
Call ahead 631-367-6295  

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