Great Lakes Marine Gallery Talk

Carrie Sowden is an underwater archaeologist and the Archaeological Director at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio. She will lead a talk on “Great Lakes Ship Portraiture” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30 in Hoover Auditorium.

Great Lakes history comes to life by studying ship portraits from the 19th and 20th centuries and distinguishing characteristics of the vessels. The individuals who painted these ship portraits had a wealth of knowledge concerning the specifics of ship design and function.

Sowden has worked on shipwreck projects in Maine, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, Portugal, the Azores, Turkey and Ohio.

In 2018, Sowden led a team of divers to an unknown shipwreck just off Kelleys Island and determined the wreckage was the oldest ever discovered in Lake Erie.

The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, has been receiving paintings of Great Lakes scenes since its inception in 1944. From May 24-June 15, the museum will feature its collection in the lobby of Hoover Auditorium.

The exhibit is open to the public from 12-2 p.m. Tuesdays on May 28, June 4 and 11, and a half-hour prior to all Hoover shows.