The Maritime Heritage Medal of Merit Award, first presented in 2008, is a continuation and enhancement of the PSM’s earlier Honorary Life Member award program. The Medal of Merit honors individuals who have made major contributions to the preservation and promotion of the maritime history of Puget Sound or rendered distinguished service to the Society.
The 2019 Medal of Merit Goes To:
Steve Mayo! Over many years artist Steve Mayo has, with great devotion and precision, created beautifully researched paintings of various points in our maritime history. His demand for historically accurate art brings the viewer of the painting truly into the moment. His paintings have been featured on the cover of The Sea Chest, in numerous Foss calendars, as well as on covers and as illustrations in a number of books on Northwest regional and British Columbia history. When he isn’t painting them, Steve volunteers his time presenting his works and his research to historical groups throughout the Pacific Northwest.
As a youth, Steve learned to sail on the Columbia River where he became fascinated with fishing boats, tugs, and ocean-going shipping. Another strong influence was his father, who imbued in him a passionate interest in 18th century exploration voyages to the Pacific Northwest coast.
Steve learned technique and composition with the noted watercolor artist Charles Mulvey in Seaview, Washington. He majored in Fine Art for four years including one year at the San Francisco Art Institute. His professional art career began in 1970 with featured shows selling his art while he worked on tugboats for Bellingham Tug & Barge Co., a subsidiary of Foss Maritime. In 1975, Steve left the tugboat industry to pursue his art career full-time. He used his own 60 foot classic wooden tug/yacht SKUA to travel to specific locations of historic events in Puget Sound to ensure accuracy in his paintings.
In the mid-1970’s Steve began showing his art at the Kirsten Gallery in Seattle, Washington. His one-man shows were often sold out on opening night and his paintings have been featured for over 35 years at Kirsten Gallery’s biennial Marine Show. The consistent quality and historical accuracy of his paintings established him as a premier marine artist, including a first place award at the 1980 Mystic Seaport International Marine Art Exhibition.
Missing an active involvement in the working waterfront, Steve returned to captain the 75 foot oil recovery vessel WESTERN GULL from 1985 to 2005, while continuing to produce historic marine watercolors. Today Steve and his wife live in Belllingham, WA where he continues to paint from his studio overlooking the waterfront of Bellingham Bay. Between his love for watercraft, his art school training, and his natural talent for creating remarkable depictions of our maritime history, Steve has given all of us a chance to be on the scene as our heritage unfolds.
Previous Medal of Merit Award Winners:
- 2008 – Puget Sound Maritime founding fathers Austen Hemion, Jim Gibbs, Bob Leithead, Tom Sandry and Joe Williamson
- 2009 – Ralph J. Staehli, Jr.
- 2010 – Jack Carver
- 2011 – Ron and Connie Burke
- 2012 – Jim McCurdy
- 2013 – Leonard Garfield
- 2014 – Chuck Fowler
- 2015 – John Kelly
- 2016 – Roger Ottenbach
- 2017 – Mark Freeman
- 2018 – John Goodfellow
