Griselda Healy painting on display through 2009 at Snug Harbor

Wagner College adjunct faculty member Griselda Healy's oil painting, "Pamela Hepburn," is part of a new exhibition, "Tugboats Night & Day," on display through the end of 2009 at the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor. Hepburn is captain of the tugboat Pegasus, which is currently being restored as a historic education vessel. When restoration is complete, Hepburn and the Pegasus will take students out into New York Harbor to learn about the maritime industry.

"Tugboats Night & Day" is an art and history exhibition inspired by those beloved icons of New York Harbor. It features a replica of a 19th century tugboat wheelhouse named the Susan A. Noble, constructed by master craftsman Russell Powell and his Island Housewrights staff, Don Defillo and Ron Grossberndt.

George Matteson, a former tugboat captain and the author of Tugboats of New York, curated "As Tugs Go By," the section of the exhibition devoted to the history of the towing industry.

Twelve contemporary artists contributed their tug interpretations in paintings, photographs, fine prints, and murals to the show. They include painters Steve Cryan, Griselda Healy, Patricia Melvin, Chris Protas, and John Stobart, R.A.; photographers Jonathan Atkin, Eric Holmes, Jin Lee, Michael McWeeney, and David Plowden; printmaker Alan Petrulis; and designers Daniel Adams and Sean Noyce.

Several New York Harbor towing companies have lent their support to the exhibition. They include Reinauer Transportation Companies, which is celebrating its 85th year in the maritime industry this year; Moran Towing & Transportation; McAllister Brothers Towing; K-Sea Transportation Partners, LP; Thornton Towing & Transportation, LLC ; and Penn Maritime Transportation Company.

Noble’s Tugs, an exhibition staged in our second floor library, features rarely exhibited prints and drawings of tugboats by John A. Noble (1913-1983).

The Noble Maritime Collection is part of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, located at 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. The museum is closed New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, July 4, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, students and educators, and free to children under 10. For more information, visit the Noble Maritime Collection on the Web at www.noblemaritime.org.