Like a wandering soul, a tall ship silently glides in to the mysterious, moonlit mists above the rippling waters of Montague Dawson’s “Crescent Moon.” Dawson (1895 – 1973), dubbed “king of the clipper ship school” was one of the greatest nautical artists of the 20th century who, at the peak of his career, was said to be the highest-paid painter other than Picasso. Growing up in a seafaring family by the waters of Southampton Dawson deftly portrays the interplay between sky, sea, and vessel. Often portraying tempest-tossed ships on the high seas, Dawson was employed by the Sphere as a maritime battle illustrator during World War I and II.

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