This spring, the Norwegian Maritime Museum opened John A. Noble: New York in Stone and Saltwater, an exhibition of Noble lithographs in the collection of Matthew Goodheart, a supporter of the Noble Maritime Collection who lives in Norway. John Noble’s son Allan attended the opening reception, along with Allan’s wife Kathy, his son Matt, and his nephew John Timothy. Allan wrote this article about the experience.

by Allan Noble

*From left to right:* Matt Noble, John Timothy Noble, Allan Noble, Kathy Noble, and Matthew Goodheart

On April 3, my wife Kathy, our son Matt and my brother’s son John Timothy had the privilege of attending the grand opening of a major exhibit of 36 lithographs by John A. Noble at the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo, Norway. These lithographs are from the private collection of Matthew Goodheart. Matthew and his wife Kersti Kelder live in Norway, about an hour north of Oslo, and they very kindly hosted us and drove us back and forth to the city during our visit. Matthew, along with the staff of the museum, including Director Elisabeth Koren, Curator Eyvind Bagle, and with backup from Ciro and Megan of the Noble Maritime Collection, worked very hard to put this show together—and it’s a great success! Reports are that the show has been very well received by the public in Norway since its opening, which is very gratifying and rewarding!

The Norwegian Maritime Museum is a world class museum located on the Museum Peninsula of Oslo. This is a beautiful part of Oslo, which includes a number of museums, including the Norwegian Folk Museum and the Kon-Tiki Museum.

You might wonder what the connection is between John Noble and Norway. When my father first went to sea on American four masted schooners he crewed with many Norwegian sailors, and was taught seamanship skills by them. He also became very familiar with Norwegian carpenters who formed the backbone of building many of the wooden schooners that he sailed on and drew. He especially admired “Mandal Charlie” (whose real name was Charles Gabrielson) a shipmate of his on the Annie C. Ross, and who is depicted in many of his lithographs, including Soul of Sail. Growing up, I was regaled with many tales about the heroics of Mandal Charlie, who “…could do the work of two men”. In some small way, my father passed on many of these skills to me. My father emphasized his bonds with Norway in his writing about Sailor Snug Harbor and this is beautifully captured in Erin Urban's book Hulls and Hulks in the Tide of Time. Also, for years he sold his lithographs through a gallery in Mandal, Norway, a town on Norway’s southern coast that sent many sailors to sea.

Photograph by Beate Kjørslevik, the Noble Trio performing at the opening reception

The opening was a beautiful affair attended by over 75 folks who enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere, good music provided by a trio named the Noble Trio (for the evening) wine, champagne, appetizers and gin, my father's favorite drink. They even allowed me to make some remarks about my father and the exhibition, and breaking with my father’s tradition of making a bad scene at any affair where he was being honored, I handled it with dignity, or so I’m told. I have attended many openings of my father's work, and this was one of the finest in my memory. Everything was professionally and creatively done. The Museum captured the essence of my father's work and with great innovation separated the work into four categories:New York Harbor, Sailing, Industrial and Graveyard/Wrecks. The hanging was perfect and flowed beautifully, and the excellent lighting was accentuated by black walls, which made a very powerful statement. There is also a large painted floor map of New York Harbor in the middle of the exhibition room, which helps viewers locate some of the scenes depicted in his lithographs.

The flyer for the show contains a great quote from my father: “I love the truth more than applause.” Curator Eyvind Bagle told us that the words spoke to him, and I feel that the quote is quite relevant in today’s world.

The show runs through October 26, 2025. I know it's a long trip, but Norway is a beautiful country with wonderful people and is worth the effort to get there, and the staff of the museum and Matthew and Kersti would be very welcoming.