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South Street Seaport Museum
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South Street Seaport Museum

Where New York Begins.

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Ship Models

Ship Models

The models housed in our collection represent vessels dating back to New Amsterdam. Ship models were built by sailors to commemorate their voyages, by shipping lines to advertise their vessels, and by amateur artists seeking to model ships that captured their interest. Most of the models in this collection were made after the 18th century, which includes models of merchant and fishing vessels, working vessels, ocean liners, warships, and other crafts of all sorts and sizes, as well as ship half models, and ships-in-a-bottle.

Among the 2,400 models at the Seaport Museum are Napoleonic-era Prisoner-of-War ship models, builderโ€™s models of ocean liners, and waterline models by renowned builder Charles K. Van Ryper (1891-1964).


Lightship Ambrose, 1988
RMS Queen Mary Builder's Model, ca. 1930-1934
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, ca. 1903
Detail of SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, ca. 1903
Gowanus, mid 20th century
Ship of the Line, ca. 1815
Lizzy of Albany, mid 19th century
Detail of Lizzy of Albany, mid 19th century
Emma Moran, ca. 1991
Ship in a Bottle, Flying Cloud, ca. 1930

Acquisition Policies

To learn more about how we acquire and accession objects into our collection click the button below

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Collections Online Portal

Browse a selection of Artwork, Artifacts and objects in our collection.

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South Street Seaport Museum

12 Fulton Street
NY, NY 10038
(212) 748-8600
Open: Sat-Sun 11-5

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