This seascape of a three-masted American ship, or barque, is attributed to W.J. Bennett, also known as William James Bennett. Dark clouds, high seas, and full sails suggest a stormy day as the ship navigates around a number of smaller vessels. Bennett was a British-born painter active in America and was a member of the National Academy of Design in New York City.

This oil painting by Antonio Nicolo Gaspara Jacobsen is of the USS Galena. There have been three ships in the history of the United States named Galena. This painting represents the second, a wooden steamer built and launched in 1879. She was the flagship of Rear Admiral Pierce Crosby between October 1882 and January 1883 and was decommissioned in 1890. Jacobsen was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States in 1873. A prolific painter of ships and other maritime views, he was known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels."

This landscape by Alfred Thompson Bricher is almost twice as wide as it is high, underscoring the vastness of the coast. The brown rock that rises on the left horizon is Castle Rock at Nahant, a peninsula near Lynn, Massachusetts. On the right side of the horizon stands a lighthouse on the small island of Egg Rock. Bricher is associated with the Hudson River School in American art and is known for seascapes and marine landscapes.

This painting of the entrance to San Francisco Bay was done by Theodore Wores. The painting depicts rocks, some covered with wildflowers, jutting out above the water where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay. Just visible in the background is the tip of the peninsula and the city of San Francisco. Wores was an American painter from San Francisco. He studied at the San Francisco School of Design and the Munich Academy. Four of his paintings are in the White House Collection.

This oil on canvas painting was done by Theodore Wores and depicts Lands End in San Francisco and the small lighthouse in the water where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay. Wores was an American painter from San Francisco. He studied at the San Francisco School of Design and the Munich Academy. Four of his paintings are in the White House Collection.

This seascape by Martin Johnson Heade was completed in 1869. Heade's painting captures a calm day at sea from the shores of an unknown coast. Several sailboats and seagulls are near the sunset on the horizon. Heade was an American artist who moved from portrait painting to landscapes during his career, including a number of marine paintings made in Florida. He has a total of three paintings in the White House Collection.

This oil on canvas painting was done by Theodore Wores depicting the location where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay. It looks out from Lands End, the point in what is now Golden Gate State Park, toward the Pacific. Wores was an American painter from San Francisco. He studied at the San Francisco School of Design and the Munich Academy. Four of his paintings are in the White House Collection.

This seascape of ships and boats crossing the rough current of the Delaware River was painted by Thomas Birch in 1828. The small rowboats are possibly harbor pilots who would help larger vessels navigate the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. It is likely this seascape takes place in Lewes, Delaware near Cape Henlopen due to the presence of these harbor pilots. Birch was born in Britain and came to the United States in 1794. He primarily worked in portraits and marine paintings. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting by William John Huggins depicting the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon was completed in 1816. The watercolor captures the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Great Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argus on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting by William John Huggins depicting the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon was completed in 1816. The watercolor captures the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Great Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argus on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This seascape of ships and boats crossing the rough current of the Delaware River was painted by Thomas Birch in 1828. The small rowboats are possibly harbor pilots who would help larger vessels navigate the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. It is likely this seascape takes place in Lewes, Delaware near Cape Henlopen due to the presence of these harbor pilots. Birch was born in Britain and came to the United States in 1794. He primarily worked in portraits and marine paintings. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting by William John Huggins depicting the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon was completed in 1816. The watercolor captures the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Great Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argus on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This seascape by painter Fitz Henry Lane shows the wide expanse of Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts and the many ships, boats, and ferries that sailed its waters daily. A cityscape of Boston and the Massachusetts State House are visible on the horizon. Lane was an American printer and painter raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which accounts for his familiarity with maritime scenes.

This watercolor by Alfred Addy is of the Presidential yacht, the Mayflower. Addy grew up in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States in 1906, where he lived and painted mostly in the northeast. Originally purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1898, the Mayflower was active during the Spanish-American War. In 1905 the ship was commissioned as the presidential yacht serving Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and Warren G. Harding, but President Herbert Hoover decommissioned the vessel in 1929 due to its expense. After spending years in private ownership, the Mayflower was purchased again by the Navy in 1942 and rechristened the USS Butte. After the end of the Second World War, the ship was decommissioned, passed into private ownership and eventually was involved in relocating Jewish refugees to Israel. The Mayflower was likely the only vessel to have served in the Spanish-American War as well as both World Wars and was broken up in 1955.

This painting of two fishing boats docked at the Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, California is by Lillie May Nicholson. Fishermen are seen working on the boats and on the docks. Nicholson was an Impressionist painter who lived on the coast and was known for painting watercolors of the coastline and landscapes surrounding Monterey. Two of her landscapes are in the White House Collection.

This painting by Carl Calusd (sometimes credited as Charles Calusd) is a seascape and cityscape of the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of welcome for immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. This Impressionist-style piece shows the Statue of Liberty set against the backdrop of lower Manhattan, with ships large and small around her in the water. Calusd was known for maritime paintings. The painting was a gift presented to the White House in 1909 by Hayozoun Hohannes Topakyan of the Persian consul in New York.

This seascape by William J. Glackens was completed in 1919. A large pavilion overlooks the water in Gloucester, with several people standing in the pavilion's shade. Other leisure activities like swimming and sailing are also captured in this painting. Glackens was an American Realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan school. Four of his paintings are in the White House Collection.

This oil painting is of the USS Constitution, which is the world's oldest active service naval vessel. The ship was commissioned by the Naval Act of 1794 and was launched in 1797. It was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" following the War of 1812 and is currently operated by the U.S. Navy with the mission of outreach and education. Grant was both a painter and an illustrator who became known for marine imagery following his service in the military during World War I.

This seascape by painter Lillie May Nicholson is of a beach with a far-off sea on the horizon. Looking slightly down upon the beach from a hill or dune, a curving footpath forms from the right of the painting and extends down to the shore, giving this painting its name. Two of her landscapes are in the White House Collection.

This seascape was done by an unknown artist. The painting depicts the victory of the USS Constitution over the HMS Guerriere on August 19, 1812. The painting shows the Guerriere with broken masts and smoke and fire consuming the defeated ship.

This landscape is by painter Frederick Judd Waugh. The painting is a closely cropped landscape of a rocky shoreline looking slightly down upon crashing waves. Waugh was an American painter known for seascapes and the son of noted portrait painter Samuel Waugh.

This painting by William John Huggins depicts the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon. The watercolor depicts the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argos on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships.

This seascape painting by noted American Impressionist Frederick Childe Hassam (often referred to as Childe Hassam) is of a small sailboat at sea on a bright day. The entire canvas is filled with the sky or its reflection in the surface of the water, with only the figure of the boat and the horizon line providing any sense of size. Six Hassam pieces are in the White House Collection.

This watercolor seascape of waves crashing on a rocky shore by Winslow Homer was completed around 1895. The location is Prouts Neck (or Prout's Neck), a peninsula in Scarborough, southwestern Maine. Grays and blues dominate the canvas with large white waves crashing against the rocks freely. Homer is one of the most well-known American artists. He worked as an illustrator and printmaker in addition to his illustrious career as a watercolorist.

This seascape depicting the Pilgrims' cold, wintry landing at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 is by painter Michele Felice Cornè. The Pilgrims arrive by rowboat, with the Mayflower anchored at the horizon near Clark's Island. A small group of American Indians greets the Pilgrims in the foreground. There are a few inaccuracies in the painting, including the red coats worn by the Pilgrims in the rowboat and the attire worn by the American Indians. Cornè was a native of Elba in Italy who left his home to escape the Napoleonic Wars and settled in the United States.