Once the epicenter of modern shipbuilding, the South Coast of Massachusetts holds an important place in American history.

The South Coast of Massachusetts, on the northwest shores of Buzzards Bay, is a series of idyllic and rural hamlets on fingers of land abutting the post-industrial cities of New Bedford and Fall River. Towns and villages such as Westport, Padanaram, and Marion feature vineyards, vegetable farms, pastureland, and miles upon miles of stone walls along with classic shingled and clapboard homes, some of which date back to the colonial era. Among thriving summer communities, active yacht clubs, and highly regarded golf courses, rich currents of history swirl like eddies in the area’s rivers. Yet while the urban areas wear their repurposed factories like Girl Scouts’ pins for all to see, the industrial past of the smaller towns has been turned over and tilled away like earth in an organic farm. Sure, buffs can easily delve into the records at historical societies and/or the lauded New Bedford Whaling Museum, but little remains of the most prolific shipyards of the 19th Century. 

Jim Parker, a Sandwich-based folk artist, aims to help increase awareness of the South Coast’s contributions to whaling through his paintings of many of the ships to come out of the yards. Over the past six years, he has created a series of paintings which help tell the story of how the Quakers became involved in whaling from the start; how the industry aligned with the abolitionist movement of the late 1700s and early 1800s; and how these ships created the first true biracial society in the US. “The Quakers owned many of the ships,” says Parker. “The crews would elect their captains, and all men were equal.” Captain Paul Cuffe,...