On May 19, the treasure chest better known as the Mattapoisett Museum, opened its doors, welcoming George Lowery and his family to the permanent home of his gift – a scale model of the last whaling ship built in Mattapoisett, the Wanderer.
Though the delivery occurred on January 30, the story of Lowery’s interest began when he was a boy growing up in the Bronx. He was enthralled by all things miniature. A field trip to a natural history museum, Lowery told us in April 2023, inspired him. He began building airplanes and other models from kits. By 1987, the hobby became a career.
There were intervening years that found the young Lowery enlisting in the Air Force and raising a family, but always fermenting in the back of his mind was model building, not just your run-of-the-mill models but scale models with all the finite details.
He is a perfectionist, an artist.
Lowery said he sought out and eventually found an artisan who would help him develop skills in model shipbuilding, one Frank Mastini. As Lowery told us, Mastini didn’t teach, he advised. Students were given models to build, and throughout the process, Mastini would critique and lend guidance.
Overtime and dedicated effort, Lowery learned what he had longed to know: how to turn raw wood into stunning pieces of maritime art.
Lowery’s first commission to build a whaling-ship model happened at an art fair in 2017. He was approached at the fair being held near his Arizona home by a gentleman interested in a model of the Wanderer. The gent was planning on opening a business in Mattapoisett and would use the Wanderer model as a showpiece in the establishment.
Lowery recalled his need to obtain a set of plans in order to build the model. He would reach out to the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Mattapoisett Museum. New Bedford offered engineered drawings, scant though they were, but coupled with pictures from Mattapoisett, Lowery was able to build the model.
Lowery would labor for some 2,000 hours building his model of the Wanderer. He estimated a retail price tag of $100,000 would be appropriate based on other crafts and trades. But the gentleman who ordered the ship was not to be found. No money, not even a deposit, had exchanged hands.
But Lowery isn’t bitter, “My models are my children,” he told The Wanderer. Lowery wants them to be appreciated and cared for.
With that in mind and having built a long-distance relationship with Mattapoisett Museum Curator Connor Gaudet, Lowery offered the Wanderer model to the museum. Without hesitation, Gaudet accepted the gift.
The Wanderer sailed into Mattapoisett via a delivery truck in January. No doubt it will enjoy a safe harbor at the Mattapoisett Museum into perpetuity.
Mattapoisett Museum
By Marilou Newell