Artists on the Island

As a life-long wannabe artist, I'm often stunned by the fine and applied art we have in the collections. For instance, the first time I came to the museum I was gobsmacked by the collection of shop emblems on the wall facing the entrance to building 46. It's a rare day when I don't come across something equally stunning but languishing in storage; photographs, paintings, knotboards....

As a lover of art, and an infomaniac, one of the missing pieces for me is often: "Who did this?" as is the case with the sign in the Shop 31 exhibit, which says something to the effect of "Pick out your safety glasses before you have to pick out a glass eye." It isn't just a sign... and yes, I need a photograph of it here so you, dear reader, can both see what I'm talking about and possibly help identify its maker.


Right now I have two prime suspects: Vladamir Shkurkin and Martin Aden.

Julie's History -- Visitors

Vladimir Shkurkin was a talented and prolific artist born in northern China to Russian parents in 1900. He was educated in the fine arts in Russia, but immigrated to the United States in 1925 to escape the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. World War II brought him to Mare Island where he worked as a painter until his retirement in 1963.

Typical for commercial artists, finding images of his works for hire hasn't been fruitful so far. Martin Aden seems more locatable...

Martin Aden, a Mare Island employee, designed a number of cachets used for keel layings, launchings, commissionings and other special events. Many of the cachets in Frame 1 and 2 are Aden designs. His style is recognizable by fine detail. Link to Cachet exhibit

Can you help?