Newburyport Art (NAA) presents Women who sailed Tall ships, a Member Spotlight exhibition by Rebecca Klementovich in the Mural Gallery. Her work is dedicated to the women of Portsmouth who sailed on tall ships in the 17th and 18th century. She is inspired by the bravery of these women, and their harrowing stories of life at sea. 

One piece in this exhibition, titled Her Sea Struggles, depicts a sea battle that took place during the Civil War between the USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama. Ellen and Helen Garish, the wife and daughter of sea captain Edwin Garish, were on board during this battle. There is not much known about them, aside from marriage licenses and baptismal records. Ellen Garish is believed to have written some of the ship's logs and navigational paperwork.

Rebecca is drawn to the heroic stories of these women, such as the story of the wife of a captain who would strap herself and her child to the mast of the ship so they would not be swept into the sea. Rebecca notes that these stories help her keep her life in perspective when she thinks of what these seafaring women went through.

Join Rebecca for a Meet-the-Artist event on Friday, July 14th from 4:00 – 5:00pm. Stay to enjoy the following reception for Bob Pecchia’s Moments, from 5:00 – 7:00pm. Also on view in the Sargent and Hartson Galleries is the Abstract Artists of New England 22nd Annual Exhibition.

The galleries are free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00am–5:00pm and Sunday from 1:00pm–5:00pm. Newburyport Art is closed on Mondays. The ground-floor Hills Gallery has an accessible entrance. More information, as well as an online gallery is available at newburyportart.org.