Former Lewes resident Jean Abplanalp publishes book of maritime paintings and history

Anyone who enjoys colorful art and the maritime history of the Delmarva Peninsula coast will want to take a look at Jean Abplanalp’s recently published book titled Along the Delmarva Coast and Beyond – Painting Impressions of United States Life Saving Stations, Lighthouses and Lightships.

The 96-page volume published by Cedar Tree Books in Wilmington includes dozens of watercolors by the artist-author along with historical and natural information about the installations.  In her preface, Abplanalp writes: “This book is a collection of my impressions through art, of buildings that I consider historic and are for the most part, gone.  I have always enjoyed painting structures, be they houses, barns, railroad stations, etc., and particularly those that have disappeared from our landscape.  I decided to paint those structures (life saving stations, lighthouses, and lightships) that once existed down the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.”

The ultimate inspiration for the book reveals itself in a paragraph she wrote about those who helped her with the book, stating that they “inspired me to tell the story of these courageous men who performed with fortitude the most challenging, heroic, and to me, the most humane task of ‘helping another’.”

Abplanalp was a long-time resident of Lewes, worked as a counselor, owned a historical tour company, and painted off and on, sometimes in conjunction with Millsboro Art League.  She moved to Pennsylvania following her husband’s death and has been continuing her love of art under the direction of Chadds Ford artist Karl Kuerner. Her local and maritime roots go deep, as the daughter of Elizabeth Morris Murdock of Dewey Beach, and the wife of Coast Guardsman Walter Abplanalp.  Her mother’s father was a ship’s captain employed in shipping along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts.  Through those people and many others, the artist and author developed a deep appreciation for rescue work done by those who built and manned the life saving stations, lighthouses and lightships.

Her book serves as an historical, coastal travelogue starting at Cape Henlopen in Delaware and ending below Cape Henry, south of the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.  Her research and brief essays educate readers about the various facilities and remind us of the dynamic nature of the weather-beaten eastern front of Delmarva.  Indeed, she invariably tells us that this structure or that – like the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse – disappeared decades ago in the face of storms and erosion.  Fortunately for us, her joyful watercolors allow us to envision those facilities as they once stood and provide historical insight to the character that once defined the Delmarva coast.

Simple and clear maps of Delmarva place the location of each of the 37 facilities and vessels described and illustrated by Abplanalp. By introducing each of the mini chapters with the maps, Abplanalp reinforces for the reader the strong sense of place she has chosen for her focus and further helps us to understand the fragile, remote and often hostile environment where these facilities and their crews operated.

For further information about Abplanalp’s new book, go to www.cedartreebooks.com.