Wooden Ships & Iron Men

Tom Hoyne was a successful artist in advertising when, in mid-life, he was diagnosed with cancer and given two years to live. Confounding his physicians, Hoyne lived for seventeen years, during which he produced some of the most dramatic paintings of America's maritime past. This beautiful volume is the first full presentation of Hoyne's work. More than 100 paintings are reproduced here, almost all of which portray the beauty of the fishing schooners and the terrors and hardships on the waters of the notoriously inhospitable Grand Banks. In addition to reproductions of his paintings, this book deals with the artist's life and techniques. It discusses the fishing schooners and their legendary designers. It also describes life and work on the most dangerous fishing grounds in the world with fascinating recollections of the great skippers of the fishing communities around Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the small villages that lined the East Coast. This book will confirm the artist's place as a master of marine realism.