Author James Craig hails from Gloucester, Massachusetts where he feels right at home in the oldest and greatest fishing port of the nation. Craig began his curatorial career at the House of Seven Gables, becoming the associate curator for collections at the Cape Ann Historical Museum from 2003 to 2007. This is Craig’s third title. Frank Vining Smith: Maritime Painting in the 20th Century follows on the heels of Fitz H. Lane: An Artist’s Voyage through Nineteenth Century America (The History Press, 2006) which was awarded the Gloucester Historical Commission Preservation Award in 2007. He is currently an independent consultant to fine art collectors, antique dealers and museums as he authors his latest book on noted New England folk artist John Haley Bellamy. Craig graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in anthropology.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
The Smithsonian in DC has a Libby family collection of papers of Frank Vining Smith. Are you familiar with it? Is there a log of paintings by FVS which one can review? Thank you.
how do i contact mr craig by telephone?
resintly bought a old house and found a old picture signed by Frank Vinning Smith.How can i send pictures
Hello James,
I see you’ll be back on the south shore soon to to a talk at Hull Lifesaving Museum. Can you contact me at HHS re: the FV Smith book? 781-749-7721 thx. suzanne
Mr. Craig,
I bought what I thought was a Frank Vining Smith clipper ship print at an auction this week, getting it for cheap. I figured the gesso frame was worth more than I paid. I sent photos of the piece to an art appraiser. She said it’s possible this might not be a print and might actually be an original. She said you know more about Smith than anyone so I was hoping you might be able to help me determine whether I have a cheap print in very elaborate, old frame, or whether I might have somehow landed an original. Can you contact me?
Hi Christopher ~ Thank you for reaching out ~ I will have James Craig and/or his gallery expert (one of the advisors and producers of the book) get back to you on this matter asap,
Best
Admin
Very kind of you. Thank you. I just left a note on the main site for the book, too, so you can ignore that one.
Hello Mr. Craig,
I am wondering if I could have Mr. Craig’s email to talk to him about possibly doing speaking engagements for my company, which is a Boston destination management company. I would very much appreciate your assistance. Thank you!
Hello — I enjoyed the talk you gave last weekend at Portsmouth Historical Society’s Discover Portsmouth Center. I’m a former board member at Portsmouth Historical Society. I’m also the director of a small theatre company in Portsmouth which specializes in original productions based on the culture, history and literature of New England. Next season we’re planning to develop a play based on George Savary Wasson’s books about Kittery Point ME. I”ve been looking for biographical information on Wasson for quite a while but haven’t turned up much. I was so interested in the biographical information you presented about Wasson in your talk (and I’m looking forward to reading your book when it’s available). Can you provide us with more background info to guide our process? We’re probably going to use THE GREEN SHAY as the basis of our play since it has a plot line. The other books seem more like character sketches. The language is thorny but we’ve done lots of Sarah Orne Jewett’s stories and the dialect seems similar to her characters’. Thanks for any advice you can offer!
I have what seems to be an original oil painting by frank vining smith called “Clearing the Land”(Ship Northern Light). It’s been in my family for a long time. I don’t think it’s ever been thru an auction.
The internet isn’t much help, who can I turn to for information on this painting?
Thank you
Dear Marguerite,
Jim Craig here. First off, thanks for coming out to attend my lecture up in Portsmoutha few weeks back! It was a superb crowd… just the kind of folks an author dreams of giving a talk to.
Regarding George S. Wasson, I agree with your choice of The Green Shay. Cap’n Simeon’s Store & Home From the Sea just wouldn’t work in the format you are planning. Can’t wait to see the final product!
And regarding biographical material on Wasson, I wish there were more out there about him. The sources from which I drew my research on Wasson (and which you may already have hit) are as follows:
-Eby, Cecil D., Jr.: Down East with George Savary Wasson. Down East Magazine, April, 1967
-Eckstorm, Fannie Hardy: George Savary Wasson, Artist and Writer, 1855-1932. Essex Institute Historical Collections, LXXIX (1943)
-Hatch, Francis W.: ‘Wave Crest’ Retires. Down East Magazine, June, 1969
-Introduction for unpublished typewritten manuscript concerning George Savary Wasson presented to the Boston Athenaeum in January of 1949, prepared by Walter Muir Whitehill
…I hope this helps. And please do not hesitate to fire off any other questions regarding Wasson. I promise I will be more prompt in my replies!
Good luck with the play,
Jim