Held in the Artist's Keeping

Personal Collection

The pieces and artifacts I do not sell. Authentic White Star Line relics, the material that made this series possible, the first works to exist in the genre, and the documents that anchor them to history. Each is recorded here with its provenance. Choose a piece to open its full record.

The J.D. Tourist Third Cabin trunk, White Star Line

The J.D. Trunk

White Star Line · Tourist Third Cabin

Trunk builtCirca 1900 to 1920, by construction and hardware

LabelsFive White Star Line labels. One whole, four worn, all still identifiable

ClassTourist Third Cabin, carried 1924 to 1935. Earlier crossings likely

CarriedWanted on Voyage. Kept with its owner, not stowed in the hold

Likely shipOlympic, Titanic's sister, carried this class 1925 to 1935. Unconfirmed without a passenger record.

MarkingsOwner's stencil, J.D. Sorting letter D on the surviving label

ConditionAll original. Never restored or refinished.

Canvas over wood, circa 1900 to 1920 by its construction. All original. Brass corner caps, wooden slat banding, iron hardware, and a tartan paper lining still bright inside.

Five White Star Line labels. One survives whole and reads Tourist Third Cabin, with a letter D. One shows Wanted on Voyage. One holds the tail of the word LINE. Two keep the house pennant and its star. All five are identifiable as White Star.

The D is a sorting mark. On arrival, baggage went to alphabetised benches in the customs hall and passengers collected under the first letter of their surname. The stencil on this trunk reads J.D.

Wanted on Voyage means it stayed with its owner rather than going below into the hold.

White Star created Tourist Third Cabin in 1924 and ran it until the company died in 1935. Olympic, Titanic's sister, carried the class from 1925 until her last crossing. The trunk is older than the label, so earlier crossings are likely and unprovable.

I have never seen another trunk from this era carrying this many White Star Line tags. Some have one. Most have none. This one has five.

And the initials are J.D. It makes me think of Jack Dawson, the Third Class passenger in the James Cameron film Titanic. I just think that part is neat. It's one of my favorite pieces in my collection.
Dirk Strangely

Not for Sale

The Dr. I.A. Cabin Trunk

White Star Line · Hamburg to New York

Trunk builtCirca 1905 to 1913, by construction and hardware

Tag usedWhite Star Line's Hamburg to New York service, 1920s

Likely shipThe Arabic, which worked that route. Specific vessel unconfirmed.

ClassCabin, the highest class on this service

A canvas-over-wood steamer trunk of the Olympic and Titanic era, all original and never restored. Slatwork, banding, locks, handles, and the interior tray all intact.

The lid carries its White Star Line label, printed in English and German: Hamburg to New York, Cabin. The end panel carries the owner's stencil, Dr. I.A.

Cabin Class was the top accommodation on that route. Hamburg was Europe's great emigrant gateway. The crossing dates to the 1920s, not 1912.

This is exactly the kind of trunk you would have seen on Titanic. A real White Star passenger packed it and carried it across an ocean. I get to be its steward now.
Dirk Strangely

Not for Sale

Authenticated Titanic Coal

The Medium Itself

Artifact: Coal from RMS Titanic
Recovery: 1994 Titanic Research and Recovery Expedition
Authentication: RMS Titanic, Inc., authorized recovery entity
Certificate: Object No. 94/0036, Certificate of Authenticity
Process: Ground to pigment, refined by levigation, bound with guar gum

The heart of the collection. Coal recovered from the debris field of RMS Titanic and authenticated as genuine wreck material.

I ground this coal into pigment and refined it by levigation into a museum grade paint. It becomes the pupils of every soul in the series, and my signature on every work.
Dirk Strangely

Not for Sale

Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters

1912 First Printing

Artifact: Original book, 1912
Use: Source paper for the portrait panels
Status: Working artifact, artist's collection

An authentic volume printed in 1912, in the months after the disaster. Its pages are mounted to wood panel and painted over, so the souls are rendered on the paper of their own era.

Working Artifact

The Deathless Story of the Titanic, signed by survivor Eva Hart

Signed by a Survivor

Eva Hart, 1905 to 1996

Artifact: Signed volume, Lloyd's of London Press facsimile
Signature: Eva Hart, Second Class survivor, ticket 13529
Significance: Inscribed by a person who was aboard
Status: Private collection, not for sale

A facsimile edition of The Deathless Story of the Titanic, Lloyd's of London Press, signed in ink by Eva Hart.

She was seven when she boarded at Southampton on the tenth of April, 1912, Second Class, ticket 13529. Her father put her into lifeboat 14. He did not survive.

She insisted for decades that the ship broke in two and was doubted. On the first of September, 1985, Ballard found the wreck in two pieces. She became a magistrate, was made MBE, and died in 1996 aged ninety one.

Survivor Signed

White Star Line Baggage Label

Original, Framed

Artifact: White Star Line baggage label, original paper
Marking: Sorting letter P, set within the house star
Purpose: Alphabetical sorting for customs collection on arrival
Presentation: Mounted and framed, unrestored
Status: Private collection, not for sale

The intact version of what survives only in fragments on the trunks. Green ground, the company name in a gold arc, the house star beneath. Original paper, mounted and framed rather than restored.

The letter at the centre of the star is the sorting mark. Baggage was hauled to alphabetised benches in the customs hall on arrival and collected under the passenger's initial. This one belonged to a surname beginning with P.

Not for Sale

A Handmaiden

Francis Davis Millet, First Class

Artifact: Photographic postcard, unused and never posted
Dating: Divided back, no white border, so 1907 to 1915
Work: A Handmaiden, Francis Davis Millet, 1846 to 1912
The passenger: First Class, ticket 13509, cabin E-38, lost 15 April 1912
Recovery: Body recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett
Status: Private collection, not for sale

A photographic postcard of A Handmaiden, painted by Francis Davis Millet. Title and artist are printed at the foot, and Millet's signature is in the plate at the lower left.

Millet was a Harvard educated American painter who ran the decoration of the 1893 Columbian Exposition and hangs in the Metropolitan and the Tate. He boarded Titanic at Cherbourg on the tenth of April, 1912, First Class, ticket 13509, cabin E-38. He was last seen putting women and children into the boats. His body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett.

The United States did not permit a divided back until March 1907, and the white border came in around 1915. This card has the first and not the second, so it was printed while Millet was alive. It was never posted.

Not for Sale

The collection grows as the series grows. Serious inquiries regarding stewardship of the complete original collection are welcome through the studio.

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