Staten Island’s Noble Maritime Collection Presents We Who Are Weary, Untold Stories Of Sailors’ Snug Harbor History
The Noble Maritime Collection presents We Who Are Weary, a new exhibition of Sailors’ Snug Harbor history
Editor’s note: Staten Islander previously covered the exhibition of the collection of John A. Noble’s lithographic paintings and drawings at the Noble Maritime Collection. The statue of their philanthropist privateer founder was relocated to SUNY Maritime College last year.
Exhibition Opening Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025
Time: 6 to 8 PM
Location: The Noble Maritime Collection, Building D at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301
The Noble Maritime Collection has staged a new exhibition called We Who Are Weary about untold stories in Sailors’ Snug Harbor history.
The museum will host an opening reception on Thursday, May 29, 2025 from 6 to 8 PM. Reservations for the opening reception may be made in advance through Eventbrite at the suggested admission of $10. Those wishing to contribute a different amount may do so at the door.
Presented under the recently restored trompe-l’oeil ceiling mural in the museum’s historic Writing Room, We Who Are Weary offers a fresh, people-focused perspective on the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor, the 19th-century retirement home for mariners.
The displays will highlight daily life at Sailors’ Snug Harbor and include fascinating new research done by Curator Megan Beck into the lives of workers and residents of color, which includes Civil War veterans, immigrants, and a member of the Montauk Native American tribe.
“Sailors’ Snug Harbor was one of the earliest charitable institutions in this country. I have always been drawn to the history of the home and admired the mission established by the will of founder Captain Robert Richard Randall in 1801,” said Ms. Beck.
She continued, “It was through the home’s administrative records that I was able to uncover information about what daily life was like for those who lived and worked at Sailors’ Snug Harbor, particularly for underrepresented populations, which has otherwise not been explored by previous examinations into the history. In this way, We Who Are Weary begins to establish a more accurate historical narrative for the public.”
As part of an interdisciplinary, museum-education first for the Noble Maritime Collection, students at Columbia University assisted with research into several of the sailors highlighted in the exhibition as part of the course The Untold Stories in U.S. Health Policy History, under the guidance of museum trustee Heather M. Butts. This work evolved into an ongoing partnership to continue to research the men who lived at the home.
Sailors’ Snug Harbor, a retirement home for “aged, decrepit, and worn out seamen,” opened on Staten Island in 1833. Over 10,000 men were cared for at Sailors’ Snug Harbor throughout its 143-year history on Staten Island. Admitted sailors received complimentary room and board, medical care, and the companionship of their fellow seafarers as they lived out their retirements.
The focal point of the exhibition is a wall of photographs taken of the resident sailors upon admittance to the home by the Harbor administration between 1890 and 1910. There are nearly four dozen portraits on display, which show the diversity of the men who found refuge at the retirement home.
“John Noble, the museum’s namesake, famously decried the burial of residents of Sailors’ Snug Harbor by their admission number in his drawing Captain Randall, His Vandals. That is why it is so appropriate that this exhibition seeks to connect the modern viewer with the faces and names of the men who lived here a century ago through these administrative photographs,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection.
He continued, “The sailors’ faces are compelling, and each one uniquely conveys the hardship of their life working at sea, and perhaps even a sense of relief at the care they were receiving at the venerable retirement home.”
The exhibition also includes Sailors’ Snug Harbor artifacts, including a headboard and tiles from the onsite hospital, and objects from the collection of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor Trust, including a maritime painting by a local 19th-century New Brighton artist and a cribbage board and macramé bag made by residents of the Harbor.
The Victorian-era trompe-l’œil ceiling mural in the Writing Room depicts perpetual blue skies and tropical palms that would have been familiar to sailors who occupied the building. The Versailles-Giverny Foundation underwrote the restoration of the mural in 2023. The project was graciously facilitated by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the hand-painted replica is the work of talented artists from EverGreene Architectural Arts.
Entrance to the long-term exhibition is included with pay-what-you-wish admission during regular museum hours, Wednesday through Sunday 12 PM to 5 PM, with extended hours to 6 PM on Thursdays in July and August 2025. Last admittance is 15 minutes prior to closing.
The Noble Maritime Collection is located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island’s North Shore. Take the S40 bus from the St. George Ferry Terminal to Snug Harbor Gate or the S44 to Henderson Avenue/Devon Avenue or Kissel Avenue.
We Who Are Weary was curated by Megan Beck and Michael McWeeney, with curatorial and research assistance by Alexandra Cole, Ewan Shannon, and Professor Heather M. Butts and her students at Columbia University, Chandrima Doley and Natassia Walker.
This exhibition was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; the State of New York and the National Maritime Heritage Grants Program, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior; and the TK Foundation Spirit Fund. (Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the State of New York or Department of the Interior.)
Snug-made crafts, including a macramé handbag, a ship model in a light bulb, a lifeboat model crafted out of seal hide, and ceramic pieces depicting the Robert Burns poem Tam O’Shanter, Collection of the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection
William Blythe (1849-1918), photograph, c. 1900, Collection of the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection
The Writing Room at the Noble Maritime Collection, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection
William Holden (1829-1906), photograph, c. 1900, Collection of the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection
Wall of faces installation, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection
Henry Green (1826-1910), photograph, c. 1900, Collection of the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection
Snugs Relax on Benches along East Randall Way, photograph from The Illustrated American, June 18, 1892, courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection+
For more information, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.
Banner Image: Wall of faces installation. Image Credit – Noble Maritime Collection
We actually went here in 5th grade on Fridays for a program called, “Across Four Bridges” back in the ’80s.
We learned NYC maritime history. It was a great experience.