EDUTAINMENT

Select Category

Auction China Contemporary Art - 548 ends Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 8:00:00 PM local time (CET) = 6 hours ahead of US EAST in 2 days, 19 hours and 11 minutes. New users please register now!

Edutainment > Articles on Art > Australian Artists > Nantucket

Tom Kristensen

Great Point Lighthouse
copyright Tom Kristensen

Tom Kristensen, born 1962, is a young artist from Australia, working in the tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking. On this page, he writes about his latest prints "Nantucket" and the "Widow's Walk". Both prints show scenery from Nantucket in Massachusetts, U.S.A..

Nantucket

Nantucket harbor was home to the largest whaling fleet in history. In 1775 there were 150 whaling ships working from Nantucket. The town was built from the profits made from whale oil between 1670 and 1840. The wealthy whaling captains built elegant mansions whereas Quaker farmers built simple houses with walls and roofs clad in cedar shingles.

During the boom period large weatherboard neoclassical public buildings were constructed on the main street. All buildings large and small were built from timber shipped onto the island. The expense of importing building materials meant that when the whaling boom finished most building activity on the island ceased.

Today Nantucket has more pre-Civil War buildings than anywhere else in the United States. After the Civil War the forgotten island survived on fishing and farming until tourists began to visit the island looking for the quiet charm of an America lost to the modern age.

Widow's Walk

Tom Kristensen

Nantucket
copyright Tom Kristensen

In this scene the morning sea mist shrouds the buildings and hides the distant horizon. The lofty railed platform built on top of the roof with a view to the sea is known colloquially as a widow's walk. The expression evokes a lonely wife haunting the rooftop, waiting in vain for a husband lost at sea. In polite society a widow's walk is referred to as a roof walk. In reality, the movement of ships in and out of the harbour were monitored by the merchants and whaling captains. The Nantucket women were too busy to be seen gazing from the rooftop.

The timber buildings of Nantucket are highly flammable and large sections of the town have been lost to fire. Often the fires would spread from a burning chimney, or from sparks escaping through open mortar joints. This danger was perhaps another reason why roof walks were constructed; buckets of water could be carried along the roof to douse the fire.

In no small measure roof walks were built as architectural ornaments. There may have been competition to build the most spectacular roof walk and command the most desirable outlook. Roof walks were highly ornate and required a lot of work to construct and maintain. For a period they fell out of fashion and many were removed, but enough remain to form a distinctive element of the island's architectural heritage.

A roof walk was a connection between life on land and life at sea. The view was paramount and only the tallest buildings were crowned with a roof walk. Today roof walks are popular with tourists and builders alike and they might well pop up like mushrooms, but the Nantucket Historical Association discourages the addition of new roof walks to buildings that are less than two stories high.

Forum > Articles > Australian Artists > Great Point Lighthouse

Tom Kristensen

Great Point Lighthouse
copyright Tom Kristensen

The lonely location is the most remote part of the island and it is difficult to reach through miles of sand dunes. The lighthouse keeper and his assistant had the job of tending the lamp and watching for ships in distress. When trouble struck they would raise the alarm and were ready to set out in a boat to rescue survivors. They were also involved with the salvage of the wreckage and made income from salvage rights.

The first lighthouse tower on Great Point was constructed in 1785. It was originally built from timber and it burnt down in 1816. Burning a bright lamp inside a timber building was dangerous and the second tower was built from stone in 1818. The first keeper's house had also gone up in smoke in 1812 and to improve life for the keeper the new quarters were made large enough to house a family. There was also a second building for the assistant and a boat shed. These wooden buildings stood until 1966 when they were burnt down in suspicious circumstances.

During the 1950's the lighthouse lamp was automated and the tower was sealed. The advent of electrification and radio communication meant that people were no longer required to staff the lighthouse. The unmanned lighthouse continued to function till 1984 when a calamitous storm washed away the old stone tower. For two years Great Point was without a lighthouse until a replica was built 300 yards west of the original site. The new tower seems identical to the old tower but it is constructed from modern materials and stands slightly taller.

The history of the destruction of these buildings is not so dramatic when compared to the disasters at sea. Between 1863 and 1890 no less than 43 ships wrecked near the lighthouse. Maritime mishaps are less common these days but the lighthouses of Nantucket still help to save lives.

Tom Kristensen
September 2007

The artist was first discovered by Eric van den Ing, co-author of a classic ukiyo-e book "Beauty and Violence" and owner of Saru Gallery. After Eric van den Ing had placed Tom's woodblock prints on his online gallery, a few days later a collector had bought the whole set. Mr. van den Ing seems to have a "magic hand" for new artists. He was the first, and before artelino, to introduce Paul Binnie in 2000 to a larger online community of friends of Japanese prints.

Search for Tom Kristensen

You can buy art on this site in our ongoing art auction, or direct. See also our upcoming auctions and our art products. If you have any questions, please contact us.

The images on this web site are the property of the artist(s) and or the artelino GmbH and/or a third company/institution.  Reproduction, public display and any commercial use of these images, in whole or in part, require the expressed written consent of the artist(s) and/or the artelino GmbH. . 

Bid and Buy with Confidence

1. Register over our secure line.
2. We verify your registration.
3. We delete your credit card details..
4. You can bid and buy.
5. We are certified and audited every three months by src GmbH for the PCI security standard required by VISA, Mastercard and Amex.
Free and Secure Registration   Auction Catalog

Australian Artists