by Guest » October 23, 2025, 9:13 am
I realize that preferences in artwork is a personal viewpoint and is therefore subjective with no relevance as to which work is really the best, but I was wondering in anyone would be willing to share their opinions of the various artworks depicting the Edmund Fitzgerald. From a personal perspective when it comes to depictions of the steamer in stormy conditions, I have always preferred Jim Clary's work that he released in 1976. I first saw a print of this work at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport after arriving there from a flight from Frankfort, West Germany in 1978 and have always felt that he likely captured what the ship and wave conditions were likely to be found in Lake Superior during the early to mid-afternoon hours on November 10, 1975. One slight inaccuracy I have noted in the Clary depiction is that the vessel is shown with the large radar scanner at the top of the mast that was replaced shortly before its sinking by a more modern and slimmer antenna, so Clary obviously based his work on photograph(s) taken before the radar scanner replacement-a small detail that in no way takes away from the quality of the resulting work. This particular inaccuracy has been repeated by many others claiming to be depicting the Fitgerald's final voyage. I believe the Clary piece was one of, if not the earliest such artwork released following the ship's sinking. Despite liking this particular depiction, I have only one Fitzgerald work in my collection, that being a print of the vessel sailing upbound at Detroit by Greg Tisdale dated 1985. I have always preferred depictions of this ship in its normal operation as it is impossible to really know how it appeared out in the lake that day and that I feel that its sinking has, unfortunately, grown into a unique subject that seems to overshadow both its operational career and the countless other vessel losses that in many cases are just has mysterious and have taken far more lives.
Just wondering about other viewpoints on such works of the Fitzgerald.
I realize that preferences in artwork is a personal viewpoint and is therefore subjective with no relevance as to which work is really the best, but I was wondering in anyone would be willing to share their opinions of the various artworks depicting the Edmund Fitzgerald. From a personal perspective when it comes to depictions of the steamer in stormy conditions, I have always preferred Jim Clary's work that he released in 1976. I first saw a print of this work at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport after arriving there from a flight from Frankfort, West Germany in 1978 and have always felt that he likely captured what the ship and wave conditions were likely to be found in Lake Superior during the early to mid-afternoon hours on November 10, 1975. One slight inaccuracy I have noted in the Clary depiction is that the vessel is shown with the large radar scanner at the top of the mast that was replaced shortly before its sinking by a more modern and slimmer antenna, so Clary obviously based his work on photograph(s) taken before the radar scanner replacement-a small detail that in no way takes away from the quality of the resulting work. This particular inaccuracy has been repeated by many others claiming to be depicting the Fitgerald's final voyage. I believe the Clary piece was one of, if not the earliest such artwork released following the ship's sinking. Despite liking this particular depiction, I have only one Fitzgerald work in my collection, that being a print of the vessel sailing upbound at Detroit by Greg Tisdale dated 1985. I have always preferred depictions of this ship in its normal operation as it is impossible to really know how it appeared out in the lake that day and that I feel that its sinking has, unfortunately, grown into a unique subject that seems to overshadow both its operational career and the countless other vessel losses that in many cases are just has mysterious and have taken far more lives.
Just wondering about other viewpoints on such works of the Fitzgerald.