The
Chesapeake Bay is a
body of water 193 miles long, shared by Virginia and Maryland. It is
also a region of uncommon beauty and bounty. The abundance of oysters,
crabs, and fish from the waters of the "land of pleasant living," and
the watermen that harvest them, have made the Chesapeake famous
throughout the world. The Skipjack, a sail-powered oyster dredging
boat, is the most recognizable symbol of the Bay, though their numbers
today are few. Once numbering in the hundreds, there are now less than
thirty. "Homeward Bound" depicts skipjacks and a hand-tonger workboat
in the waters near Deal Island, one of the last major skipjack
anchorages, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The ways of the watermen,
who have worked the Bay for generations, is a subject much expounded
upon in literature, art, and photography. It is a way of life worth
preserving; a tradition that goes hand-in-hand with conservation and
maintaining the Chesapeake Bay as a thriving habitat for marine life,
wildlife, waterfowl, and man. The Chesapeake Bay Collection is an
important series of prints designed to promote and encourage awareness
of the Chesapeake of today, as well as its colorful past.
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