The 2014 George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence recipient, Robert Selby, stands next to his painting, "Chukchi reach" after receiving his award at the opening reception of the 2014 Coast Guard Art Program collection on view at the Salmagundi Club in New York City, June 26, 2014. The George Gray Award is named after COGAP's co-founder and champion, George Gray. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class LaNola K. Stone)
New York—Twenty eight works by 20 artists of the U.S. Coast Guard Art Program will be on view at Federal Hall National Memorial from July 31 through September 19, 2014. These works vividly bring to life the myriad missions performed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Subjects portrayed, to name but a few, include scientific research in the Arctic, dramatic surf boat exercises and daring search and rescue cases.
Federal Hall is the perfect venue for this exhibition as this national park shares history with the Coast Guard. When Alexander Hamilton was secretary of the treasury, he had offices at 26 Wall Street, site of the modern-day memorial, in what was the first Capitol of the United States. While secretary, Hamilton established the Revenue Cutter Service, an armed maritime law enforcement service considered the forerunner of today’s Coast Guard.
COGAP, which began in 1981, utilizes fine art as an outreach tool for educating diverse audiences about the Coast Guard. Today, more than ever, the service addresses an abundance of challenges as it works to maintain the nation’s security at home and abroad and execute its 11 statutory missions such as drug interdiction, marine safety and marine environmental protection. COGAP art provides visual testimony to the unique contribution the Coast Guard makes to the nation in its multifaceted role as a military, humanitarian and law enforcement organization.
COGAP members, many of whom are professional artists, donate their works to the collection, which today contains more than 1,800 pieces depicting the missions performed by the Coast Guard’s approximately 42,500 active duty members. Since the program’s inception, it has been sponsored by the Salmagundi Club, a noted New York City cultural and art center.
Federal Hall National Memorial at 26 Wall Street is located diagonally across from the New York Stock Exchange. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free.
To learn more about COGAP and Federal Hall, visit www.uscg.mil/art and www.nps.gov/feha.
Editor’s Note: High resolution images of the 2014 collection can be seen and downloaded at: http://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=%22US+Coast+Guard+Art+Program+2014+Collection%22&sort=publishdate#.U6glul51S4A
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