This seascape of a three-masted American ship, or barque, is attributed to W.J. Bennett, also known as William James Bennett. Dark clouds, high seas, and full sails suggest a stormy day as the ship navigates around a number of smaller vessels. Bennett was a British-born painter active in America and was a member of the National Academy of Design in New York City.

This oil painting by Antonio Nicolo Gaspara Jacobsen is of the USS Galena. There have been three ships in the history of the United States named Galena. This painting represents the second, a wooden steamer built and launched in 1879. She was the flagship of Rear Admiral Pierce Crosby between October 1882 and January 1883 and was decommissioned in 1890. Jacobsen was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States in 1873. A prolific painter of ships and other maritime views, he was known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels."

This painting is by Theodore J. Richardson, an artist known for his watercolor landscapes. Two boats are painted in the foreground on Sitka Sound or, as referred to by Richardson, Sitka Bay in Sitka, Alaska. The wilderness of Alaska is captured with low-lying forests and high mountain ranges, including Mount Edgecumbe. Richardson was an American painter who spent much of his life in California and Alaska and became known for his paintings of the Alaskan wilderness.

This seascape by Martin Johnson Heade was completed in 1869. Heade's painting captures a calm day at sea from the shores of an unknown coast. Several sailboats and seagulls are near the sunset on the horizon. Heade was an American artist who moved from portrait painting to landscapes during his career, including a number of marine paintings made in Florida. He has a total of three paintings in the White House Collection.

This seascape of ships and boats crossing the rough current of the Delaware River was painted by Thomas Birch in 1828. The small rowboats are possibly harbor pilots who would help larger vessels navigate the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. It is likely this seascape takes place in Lewes, Delaware near Cape Henlopen due to the presence of these harbor pilots. Birch was born in Britain and came to the United States in 1794. He primarily worked in portraits and marine paintings. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting is by George Caleb Bingham, a painter known for his depictions of the Missouri River and surrounding country. In this painting, seven men float on a raft full of cargo hoping to lighten the load of the steamer that has run aground on the distant horizon.

This painting by William John Huggins depicting the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon was completed in 1816. The watercolor captures the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Great Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argus on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting by William John Huggins depicting the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon was completed in 1816. The watercolor captures the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Great Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argus on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This seascape of ships and boats crossing the rough current of the Delaware River was painted by Thomas Birch in 1828. The small rowboats are possibly harbor pilots who would help larger vessels navigate the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. It is likely this seascape takes place in Lewes, Delaware near Cape Henlopen due to the presence of these harbor pilots. Birch was born in Britain and came to the United States in 1794. He primarily worked in portraits and marine paintings. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting by William John Huggins depicting the first naval battle of the War of 1812, with several warships seen sailing on the horizon was completed in 1816. The watercolor captures the first naval action that broke out between the United States and Great Britain when the HMS Belvidera encountered the frigates USS President and USS United States and the sloops Hornet and Argus on June 23, 1812. The USS Congress, which was also present at the engagement, is not pictured. The British were not aware war had been declared when the American ships fired upon them. The Belvidera was able to evade and escape the confrontation. This same event is captured in a different painting in the White House Collection by James Stilwell. Huggins was a British artist well-known for his marine landscapes featuring ships. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.

This painting of a group of boys is by William Ranney. The four boys are grouped together, almost mimicking the slope of the large, dark cloud behind them. On the left side of the canvas is a brighter sky with a lighthouse visible in the distance. Although Ranney, an American artist, is best known for western scenes, he also painted subjects near his New Jersey studio. This painting is one of his New Jersey-set paintings. An enthusiastic cricket player, he helped begin the New York Cricket Club, which played many of its games at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey.

This seascape by painter Fitz Henry Lane shows the wide expanse of Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts and the many ships, boats, and ferries that sailed its waters daily. A cityscape of Boston and the Massachusetts State House are visible on the horizon. Lane was an American printer and painter raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which accounts for his familiarity with maritime scenes.

This painting by Carl Calusd (sometimes credited as Charles Calusd) is a seascape and cityscape of the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of welcome for immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. This Impressionist-style piece shows the Statue of Liberty set against the backdrop of lower Manhattan, with ships large and small around her in the water. Calusd was known for maritime paintings. The painting was a gift presented to the White House in 1909 by Hayozoun Hohannes Topakyan of the Persian consul in New York.

This model of the Sea Witch, a famous clipper ship, was gifted to President John F. Kennedy and displayed in the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office during his time in office. The Sea Witch was built in New York for a Chinese trading firm between 1846-1856. It was a three masted, tall ship with a green and brown painted hull. The Sea Witch was the first Clipper ship to go around Cape Horn to California in less than 100 days, and twice broke speed records from Canton to the United States.

This model of the Sea Witch, a famous clipper ship, was gifted to President John F. Kennedy and displayed in the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office during his time in office. The Sea Witch was built in New York for a Chinese trading firm between 1846-1856. It was a three masted, tall ship with a green and brown painted hull. The Sea Witch was the first Clipper ship to go around Cape Horn to California in less than 100 days, and twice broke speed records from Canton to the United States.

This model of the Sea Witch, a famous clipper ship, was gifted to President John F. Kennedy and displayed in the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office during his time in office. The Sea Witch was built in New York for a Chinese trading firm between 1846-1856. It was a three masted, tall ship with a green and brown painted hull. The Sea Witch was the first Clipper ship to go around Cape Horn to California in less than 100 days, and twice broke speed records from Canton to the United States.

This model of the Sea Witch, a famous clipper ship, was gifted to President John F. Kennedy and displayed in the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office during his time in office. The Sea Witch was built in New York for a Chinese trading firm between 1846-1856. It was a three masted, tall ship with a green and brown painted hull. The Sea Witch was the first Clipper ship to go around Cape Horn to California in less than 100 days, and twice broke speed records from Canton to the United States.

This model of the Sea Witch, a famous clipper ship, was gifted to President John F. Kennedy and displayed in the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office during his time in office. The Sea Witch was built in New York for a Chinese trading firm between 1846-1856. It was a three masted, tall ship with a green and brown painted hull. The Sea Witch was the first Clipper ship to go around Cape Horn to California in less than 100 days, and twice broke speed records from Canton to the United States.

This model ship represents the U.S.S. Constitution. Launched in 1797, the ship earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812 when it captured multiple British ships. The Constitution saw service in multiple conflicts and now serves as a museum to American naval history at its home in Boston, Massachusetts. The replica was one of many model ships collected by President John F. Kennedy.

This seascape by William J. Glackens was completed in 1919. A large pavilion overlooks the water in Gloucester, with several people standing in the pavilion's shade. Other leisure activities like swimming and sailing are also captured in this painting. Glackens was an American Realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan school. Four of his paintings are in the White House Collection.

This oil painting is of the USS Constitution, which is the world's oldest active service naval vessel. The ship was commissioned by the Naval Act of 1794 and was launched in 1797. It was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" following the War of 1812 and is currently operated by the U.S. Navy with the mission of outreach and education. Grant was both a painter and an illustrator who became known for marine imagery following his service in the military during World War I.

This oil painting was done by Henry Hobart Nichols. Also known as Hobart Nichols, he was known for landscape paintings like this one. In the painting figures move along the dock, where a ship with its sails folded waits before a large warehouse. Born in Washington D.C., Nichols studied in Germany and Paris, and worked as an illustrator with the U.S. Geological Survey for a time.

This landscape by Maurice Prendergast is of Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts. The foreground consists of a varying green tones and loose brushstrokes, creating a windswept field and shore. On the right, a woman walks with four small children. In the harbor are several ships and boats sailing while on the far-off shoreline are the shadowy figures of several people. Prendergast was a Canadian-born painter who studied in Paris during the 1890s and is known as a Post-Impressionist. He has two paintings in the White House Collection.

This painting is by John Henry Twachtman, an American Impressionist painter who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and at the Academie Julian in Paris. He was based from 1886 in Greenwich, Connecticut. The rough landscape captures a house by the water and a long, crooked dock extending out into the water. The titular boat is anchored at the end of the dock.

This seascape was done by an unknown artist. The painting depicts the victory of the USS Constitution over the HMS Guerriere on August 19, 1812. The painting shows the Guerriere with broken masts and smoke and fire consuming the defeated ship.