Abstract
THE National Maritime Museum, opened by H.M. the King on April 27, is a notable addition to the public galleries of Great Britain. Housed in a building with historic associations from which can be seen on one side Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory and on the other the Royal Naval College and the Thames, the Museum will make an appeal to all who take an interest in the history of naval affairs, the growth of the British Empire and the lives of great British seamen of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century. It has come into existence through the enthusiasm of the members of the Nautical Research Society, the munificence of Sir James Caird and finally the passing of the National Maritime Museum Act of 1934. The buildings it occupies include the Queen's House finished three hundred years ago, and the wings erected during the nineteenth century when the place was used for the Greenwich Hospital School, now removed to Hol-brook, Suffolk. After restoration by the Office of Works, both the Queen's House and the other buildings have been turned into galleries, which now contain the most magnificent series of sea pictures in existence. In addition to the portraits, seascapes, and battle scenes, the great Macpherson collection of prints, drawings, etc., there are beautiful models of ships of the various periods, collections of navigational instruments and a spacious library. No attempt so far has been made to illustrate the great revolution in maritime affairs during the nineteenth century or the historic events of more recent times, but these no doubt will be taken into consideration in due course. The thanks of the whole community, no less than those of students of maritime affairs and of marine art, are due to Sir James Caird, who has made the nation his debtor by the support he has given to the formation of the museum.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The National Maritime Museum. Nature 139, 748 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139748a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139748a0