2021 Coast Guard Art Program
About the Coast Guard Art Program
The Coast Guard Art Program (COGAP) uses fine art as an outreach tool for educating diverse audiences about the Coast Guard. Today, more than ever, the Service addresses an abundance of challenges as it works to maintain the nation’s security at home and abroad and executes its statutory missions. COGAP art provides visual testimony to the unique contribution the Service makes to the nation in its multifaceted roles as a military, humanitarian and law enforcement organization. Art from the program is exhibited at museums around the country. It is displayed in the offices of members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials and other military services and Coast Guard locations nationwide. It has also been displayed by the State Department overseas in its prestigious Art in Embassies program.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Coast Guard Art Program. Today, the collection holds over 2,000 works that capture the myriad missions the more than 41,000 active-duty men and women of the Coast Guard perform daily, including homeland security, search and rescue, marine environmental protection, drug interdiction, national defense and natural resource management. Paintings and drawings bring to life the work performed by the Coast Guard and vividly demonstrate the Service’s contributions to the country.
The 2021 collection is comprised of 32 works of art created by 26 artists. Among missions captured in these remarkable works are the many varied training exercises that help the Coast Guard be Semper Paratus, illegal drug interdiction, patrols, ice-breaking, daring search and rescue missions, and the Service aiding people and even their pets in response to natural disasters. All works are generously donated by COGAP members, most of whom are professional artists.
Please enjoy this virtual exhibition of artwork from 2021.
Frank Gaffney
Oil
16 x 20 inches
Mountlake Terrace, Wash.
A service member from the Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT)-West in San Diego executes a fast rope insertion from a Coast Guard helicopter down to the deck of the Cutter Steadfast. MSRT-West service members undergo advanced training and are proficient in specialized techniques to operate alongside federal, state and local partners and protect the nation from threats at sea and in air.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202106
Don Hatcher
24 x 30 inches
Newport, Wash.
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, helicopter pilot awaits the arrival of an injured fisherman on a small boat from the commercial fishing vessel seen in the distance. The helicopter crew transported the man safely to emergency medical services in Kodiak.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202110
J.C. “Jim” Smith
Watercolor
14 x 17 inches
McMinnville, Ore.
The Willow, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, is homeported in Charleston, S.C. While the cutter’s primary mission is servicing aids to navigation, other duties include maritime law enforcement, maritime environmental protection, and search and rescue. The Willow, also an ice-breaker, has participated with other nations in the Arctic environment, as here depicted, and patrolled the region.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202124
Kirk Larsen
Acrylic
24 x 24 inches
Hicksville, N.Y.
The Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay breaks ice for freighters navigating through the St. Marys River in the Great Lakes and near Group Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. During the winter, paths must be made in the ice for commercial vessels to continue shipping goods.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202118
Debra Keirce
Oil
12.5 x 36 inches
Broadlands, Va.
Coast Guard musicians,—one playing a clarinet, the other a saxophone—and a Navy flute player perform before the backdrop of lyrics to the Coast Guard’s official marching song, Semper Paratus. Coast Guard Band members tour throughout the country to promote the work of the men and women in the Coast Guard and to serve as a bridge between the service and the American people.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202114
Priscilla Messner-Patterson
Transparent watercolor
11 x 14 inches
Post Falls, Idaho
Coast Guard rescues often go unheralded or are briefly mentioned in the news such as the rescue depicted here. Upon receiving a distress call from stranded hunters on a remote Alaskan island close to Russia, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak dispatched an MH-60 helicopter. The helicopter crew traveled over 700 miles, braved blowing snow and gale force winds, to locate the three people on the island. But dedication paid off: the three were successfully located and safely transported to Nome for medical attention.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202120
James Dyekman
Watercolor
14.5 x 21.75 inches
Chesapeake, Md.
A Coast Guard boatswain’s mate (right) and a maritime law enforcement specialist (left) observe as a female service member (middle) manually inflates a life vest during training in Bahrain. The members are with Patrol Forces Southwest Asia—PATFORSWA—the largest Coast Guard unit overseas. PATFORSWA maintains a maritime humanitarian presence on the seas and provides the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet with combat-ready assets. It is comprised of six 110-foot cutters, shore-side support personnel, Advanced Interdiction and Maritime Engagement Teams, and other deployable specialized forces.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202104
C.R. “Bob” Bryant
16 x 20 inches
Cape Neddick, Maine
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Legare works a stern towline for the disabled fishing vessel Aaron & Melissa II off the coast of Maine. Under rough weather conditions seeing 10-foot high seas and turbulent winds, the fishing vessel was taking on water. A Coast Guard helicopter crew was dispatched from Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., and rescued the four crewmembers aboard, bringing them to safety at a nearby hospital.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202101
Anne Kullaf
Watercolor
11 x 14 inches
Philadelphia, Penn.
Coast Guard surfmen, often considered among the service’s most proficient small boat operators, undergo demanding training. Training provides them the skills for meeting maritime emergencies caused by violent storms. The National Motor Lifeboat School (NMLBS), located near the mouth of the Columbia River, is the only school for rough weather surf rescue operations in the country. The Columbia River Bar, known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” provides an ideal NMLBS training environment. Depicted here is a surfboat navigating in extreme conditions at Cape Disappointment on the north side of the river.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202117
Leendert van der Pool
Oil
18 x 24 inches
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley’s Shallow Water Response Team (SWRT) rescued six adults, three children and their beloved dog near Navarre Beach, Fla., as the destructive Hurricane Sally caused flash flooding. SWRTs responded to areas impacted by the hurricane and conducted search and rescue operations.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202128
Oscar Romero
Oil
16 x 12 inches
Sacramento, Calif.
A Coast Guard rescue swimmer (center) from an MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter out of Air Station Clearwater, Fla., assists with dewatering a fishing vessel taking on water 67 miles south of Cape San Blas, Fla. The dewatering device—the box submerged in water—was hauled aboard by the Coast Guard member. The Coast Guard Cutter Seahawk later safely towed the vessel to St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, Fla.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202122
Amy Digi
Oil
16 x 20 inches
Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
A Coast Guard avionics electrical technician attaches a buoy to an MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter during sling load operations conducted in Chiniak, on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Aircrews routinely conduct sling load hoisting of buoys and large towers to practice moving large navigational aids, simulating work crews will conduct on water and in remote locations throughout the state.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202103
John Ward
Acrylic
11 x 19.75 inches
Saranac Lake, N.Y.
A Coast Guard aviation survival technician—better known as a rescue swimmer—from Air Station Houston, battles the wind and rain while surveying for stranded victims and damage from Hurricane Isaac. The hurricane made landfall in Louisiana, resulting in many deaths and significant property losses.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202131
Chuck Van Horn
Watercolor
16 x 20 inches
Glen Head, N.Y.
Coast Guard Cutter Munro crewmembers inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The Coast Guard Coast Guard seized more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana in 14 separate suspected drug smuggling interdictions and disruptions. The street value of the seized drugs was estimated at $569 million. The searches by three Coast Guard cutters and occurring off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America were conducted during a three-month period.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202129
Kristin Hosbein
Oil
16 X 20 inches
St. Joseph, Mich.
A Coast Guard marine inspector with Sector Anchorage in Alaska carefully checks a survival suit as part of a commercial fishing vessel safety exam in Levelock, Alaska. All Coast Guard members were tested for COVID-19 before deploying, followed by appropriate quarantine procedures. Inspectors wore protective equipment and practiced social distancing.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202113
Tom Hedderich
Watercolor
16.5 x 11 inches
Westtown, N.Y.
A Coast Guard machinery technician from Station Galveston holds an infant after rescuing him from a grounded fishing vessel near Rollover Pass in Gilchrist, Texas. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report of three fishing vessels aground in the Intracoastal Waterway north of Rollover Pass when concerns were raised about possible rollovers occurring due to Hurricane Delta. This was the tenth-named storm to strike the United States in 2020 and the third major one in that year’s record-breaking hurricane season.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202112
Louis Stephen Gadal
14 x 20 inches
Los Angeles, Calif.
A crewmember on a small boat from the Coast Guard Cutter Swordfish returns after a patrol on Puget Sound. The 87-foot Swordfish is a patrol boat homeported at Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash. The vessel performs a variety of missions including maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and protecting living marine resources.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202105
Don Hatcher
Acrylic
16 x 20 inches
Newport Wash.
Coast Guard aviation personnel from across the nation deploy to Alaska to participate in the service’s annual Arctic Shield Operations. Here, an aviation technician—flight mechanic—from Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., hoists an aviation survival technician—rescue swimmer—from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. The exercise took place near Oliktok Point on the coast of the Arctic Ocean.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202111
J.C. “Jim” Smith
Watercolor
17 x 14 inches
McMinnville, Ore.
A Coast Guard flight mechanic keeps watch over a MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter during start-up before a flight from Kotzebue, Alaska. Helicopter crews from Air Station Kodiak are forward deployed to Kotzebue in support of maritime activity in the Arctic.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202123
Sandra Hart
Acrylic
16 x 20 inches
Arlington Heights, Ill.
A Coast Guard boatswain’s mate goes over the positive results of a dockside safety exam with a commercial fisherman in Yaquina Bay, Newport, Ore. These mandatory exams, conducted free of charge, insure a fishing vessel is in compliance with all safety regulations.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202107
Ken Stetz
Oil
15 x 24 inches
Collegeville, Penn.
Maritime Safety and Security Team members from Pacific Area units provide security as a landing craftutility vessel approaches Seward Boat Harbor in Seward, Alaska, during an Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise. This joint training exercise tests expeditionary logistical capabilities in the Arctic region and prepares joint forces to respond to crises across the Indo-Pacific.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202125
Don Hatcher
Acrylic
16 x 20 inches
Newport, Wash.
Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s crew ventured onto Disko Bay off the western coast of Greenland along with a Danish naval vessel, to conduct training exercises. The bay is well known for its many large icebergs. The cutter for its many large icebergs. The cutter safely navigated these hazards—some the size of sports stadiums—and also launched its MH-65 helicopter. The Danish naval vessel is certified for landings and take offs of this Coast Guard air asset.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202109
MST3 Thomas Unger
Coffee and pen
22.5 x 28.5 inches
New Bern, N.C.
Pollution responders from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Fort Macon, N.C., work with local authorities to reach a partially submerged sailboat in shoal waters and assess the pollution threat to the environment. In one year alone, the Coast Guard conducted over 340 inspections in North Carolina.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202127
Debra Keirce
Oil
18 x 26.75 inches
Broadlands, Va.
A Coast Guard aviation survival technician completes the final qualification flight before becoming a fully qualified helicopter rescue swimmer. The hoist training he undergoes is conducted from the Coast Guard Cutter Naushon off Kodiak, Alaska. He is hoisted down to the cutter and then back up to a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202116
Karen Loew
18 x 24 inches
New York, N.Y.
A crew member of the Coast Guard Cutter Liberty heaves a towline to a disabled commercial fishing vessel. The cutter towed the fishing boat to safety in Elfin Cove, Alaska, 80 miles west of Juneau. The cutter, homeported in Juneau, is a patrol boat with primary missions that include search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security operations.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202119
Crissie Murphy
Acrylic
10 x 10 inches
Lowell, Mass.
A Coast Guard operations officer of the Cutter Stone bumps elbows in greeting and celebration with a member of the Guyanese coast guard near the shore of this Latin American nation. All personnel wore masks as a COVID virus mitigation practice. The two nations had just completed their first cooperative training exercise combating illicit marine traffic in support of a bilateral agreement.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202121
Debra Keirce
Oil
18 x 27.75 inches
Broadlands, Va.
Members of a Coast Guard Shallow Water Response Team (SWRT) conduct search and rescue operations in thewake of severe flooding in North Carolina, rescuing both people and pets. The flooding was caused by a violent hurricane thrashing both North and South Carolina. The SWRT was comprised of the Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team and the Tactical Law Enforcement Team South—both out of Miami, Fla.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202115
Don Hatcher
Acrylic
16 x 20 inches
Newport, Wash.
Cutter Dependable crewmembers prepare to broad a commercial fishing boat in waters 80 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass. The commercial vessel was disabled when a fishing net became enmeshed in the vessel’s propeller. It was safely towed by the Coast Guard crew to Cape Cod Bay.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202108
Leon Wescoat, III
Oil
16 x 20 inches
Absecon, N.J.
The Coast Guard crew of a small boat patrols the azure waters in Ocean City, N.J. These boats usually operate near shore or on inland waterways. The bridge shown here underwent renovation and was replaced with a fixed span and a pedestrian walkway.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202132
Emily Waldman
Watercolor
9 x 11 inches
Pittsford, N.Y.
The Coast Guard and the New York City Police and Fire Departments provide a security escort for the USNS Comfort’s arrival into New York Harbor. The Navy vessel was sent to assist in responding to the COVID-19 virus. Coast Guard crew from Cutters Shrike and Sitkinak, Maritime Safety and Security Team New York, Station New York and Air Station Cope Cod participated in the escort.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202130
Susanne Corbelletta
Oil
20 x 20 inches
Glen Head, N.Y.
A Coast Guard diver emerges from a decompression chamber during a simulated training exercise aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star. The chamber allows the crew to perform lifesaving procedures in the event of a dive emergency. The cutter, dispatched to McMurdo Station in Antarctica, breaks ice for refuel and resupply vessels as part of Operation Deep Freeze—the U.S. military’s contribution to the National Science Foundation-managed civilian U.S. Antarctic Program.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202102
Don Sturdivant
Oil
18 x 24 inches
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant conducts flight operations with an Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter in order to qualify flight deck team members while in the Caribbean. Earlier, Valiant crew conducted training with two MH-65 Dolphin Helicopters from the air station.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202126
Anne Kullaf
Watercolor
11 x 14 inches
Philadelphia, Penn.
Coast Guard surfmen, often considered among the service’s most proficient small boat operators, undergo demanding training. Training provides them the skills for meeting maritime emergencies caused by violent storms. The National Motor Lifeboat School (NMLBS), located near the mouth of the Columbia River, is the only school for rough weather surf rescue operations in the country. The Columbia River Bar, known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” provides an ideal NMLBS training environment. Depicted here is a surfboat navigating in extreme conditions at Cape Disappointment on the north side of the river.
Coast Guard Art Collection 202117