A powerful new exhibition exploring the stark contrast between life in harbour and out on the open sea is now on show at the Scottish Maritime Museum (Denny Tank) in Dumbarton.
Harbour and Horizon brings together artworks, historical photographs and artefacts from the last two centuries held in the Scottish Maritime Museum’s nationally recognised collections to explore the lived experiences of sailors and their families.
Scotland’s harbours and ports have long inspired artists drawn by their bustling activity, shifting light and atmosphere and evocation of trade and travel. Exhibition artworks depict the safe haven at home, from the industrial energy of the River Clyde to the beauty of fishing harbours, often portrayed as idyllic communities.
The exhibition then reveals the dangers at sea beyond the harbour walls most strikingly through a series of photographs taken in 1909 by amateur photographer and sailor William Sinclair. Born in Stevenston in the late nineteenth century, Sinclair served his apprenticeship with Thomas Law & Co of Glasgow, sailing twice around the world aboard full-rigged ships.
His photographs document the relentless hardships of early twentieth-century seafaring – from being becalmed in the Doldrums to battling in the Roaring Forties as well as the perilous passage around Cape Horn – one of the world’s most dangerous sea routes. Together with ship logs and diaries from the collection, his photographs offer an unfiltered glimpse into life at sea.
Eva Bukowska, Exhibitions and Events Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: “We are delighted to open Harbour and Horizon at our Dumbarton Museum. This fascinating exhibition explores life at the water’s edge and far beyond the horizon, the safety of port and the peril of the voyage. We are particularly excited to share the photographs of William Sinclair, which come from a private collection held by Lawrie Sinclair, his grandson and Chair of the Scottish Maritime Museum Trust. The combination of artworks depicting harbours as places of safety, community and hard work alongside documentary photographs of sailors battling the elements creates a compelling dialogue that visitors of all ages will enjoy.”
Artefact highlights include an 1888 tribunal transcript investigating cargo lost in storm conditions aboard the Maggie built by Troon Shipbuilding Co. in1883 and a collection of Maritime Protest Notes from Dundee (1987–2000). For centuries, these notarised statements have been produced when a ship enters port after a rough voyage to protect the ship’s charterer or owner from liability for damage to the cargo, the ship or to other ships in a collision caused by unavoidable events at sea.
Also on show are a seaman’s record book; a certificate of discharge issued to nursing sister Elaine Margaret Westhead for her service on Cunard liners; a personal diary recounting able seaman John Stuart MacMurchie’s experiences on the 1903 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition aboard SY Scotia; and a photographic journal. The photographic journal by purser Owen Charles Bennett documents life aboard SS Nowshera (1930–31) and includes images of the ship and crew, drills, storms, Christmas dinners onboard, shore leave at Calcutta and swimming in the Rangoon River.
The Harbour and Horizon exhibition is included in Museum Admission.
www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org
