SSHSA VIRTUAL MUSEUM

This growing collection of paintings, half-models, and maritime artwork by noteworthy artists from the 19th and 20th centuries is generously shared by the family of Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. and stewarded by SSHSA.

Henry Posner, Jr. was a scientist, entrepreneur, head of 26 companies and philanthropist who donated most of his wealth. “He was the wisest person I’ve ever known,” said his son, Henry Posner III. “And that’s largely because he was not somebody who was afraid to take chances.” The chances he took brought him into the secretive halls of the Manhattan Project, where he helped develop the atomic bomb; on journeys into Iran and around Cape Horn; into an Atlantic hurricane at the helm of a 40-foot sailboat when he was 63; to the top of the Great Wall of China at 78; and onto the ancient peaks of the Peruvian Andes at 82.

As the country prepared for war, Mr. Posner developed solid fuel for rockets, as well as take-off boosters for propeller-driven B-17 and B-29 bombers at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Continuing his work at Pittsburgh’s Explosives Research Laboratory, one of his experiments set fire to the building. “He was somebody who learned that wisdom comes from failure, and he was never afraid to fail. That was an important part of his character,” Henry Posner III said. “He got as much value from his failures as from his successes.”

He returned to Pittsburgh after World War II ended, and taught chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh during the day while earning his master’s degree at night.

Mr. Posner met his wife, Helen, at the Oakland YMCA, which he joined for $15 in 1949 because a friend told him they could meet girls there. They were married in 1953 in Pittsburgh while he was running the Baltimore division of his father’s business, Pittsburgh Outdoor Advertising. Their first years together involved many long commutes to Baltimore, the birth of their first child there in 1955, relocation back to Pittsburgh in 1956, and the birth of three more sons. They were happily married for 58 years.

In 1963, Henry Posner Sr. created the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh to support charitable causes in the Pittsburgh region. Later, his son, Henry Posner Jr. expanded the foundation’s work to a global sphere, especially in the Former Soviet Union. More than 50 years after its founding, the foundation has grown its giving and expanded its lens on philanthropy while maintaining its commitment to those areas. Henry Posner III now serves as chairman.

We are grateful for their continued support of our mission. Curatorial interpretation is courtesy of former SSHSA Board Member James Shuttleworth. For any additional comments or questions, please contact SSHSA at info@sshsa.org.

Click an image to view larger with historical notes

SS Humboldt
by Louis Gamain
Lithograph

Princess Royal
by J. Beckett
Oil on canvas

SS Caronia
by W. Bennett
Oil on canvas

USS Nicholson
by A. F. Bishop
Oil on canvas

SY Wanderer
by “Coats”
Oil on canvas

Britanic & Celtic
by Parker Greenwood
Oil on canvas

SS Ottawa
by Olaf Gulbrandsen
Oil on canvas

Untitled
Signed C? “Wallis”
Oil on canvas

SS Drenthe
Signed “DGY”
Oil on canvas

Untitled
Signed “EH”
Oil on canvas

RMS Saxonia
by W. Bennett
Oil on canvas

SS Dunkeld
by Antonio Jacobsen
Oil on canvas

Pilot Boat New York
by Antonio Jacobsen
Oil on canvas

Naval Vessel, Liner & U-Boat
by Albert F. Bishop
Oil on canvas

Fantome II
Artist unknown
Oil on canvas

Norfolk
Artist unknown
Watercolor

Game Cock
by A. Clive Edwards
Lithograph

Caroline Mills
by William Alexander Coulter
Oil on canvas

SS Scawfell
Artist unknown
Gouache

SS Kätie
by Antonio Jacobsen
Oil on canvas

Westward Ho
by A. Clive Edwards
Lithograph

Steam Tug Aid
by W. S. Jolly
Oil on canvas

Niagara First Sail
by Paul Kiehl, Jr.
Lithograph

Untitled
Artist unknown
Oil on canvas

SS Havana
by Antonio Jacobsen
Oil on canvas

Paddle Tug Aid
Artist unknown
Oil on canvas

Steam Yacht Rhouma
Signed “AM”
Oil on canvas

Schooner in a Storm
Artist unknown
Oil on canvas

Schooner on Naples Bay
Artist unknown
Oil on canvas

Parthenope
Artist unknown
Oil on canvas

Model in Shadow Box
Maker unknown
Painted wood & paper

Schooner America
Signed “Manherz”
Painted fireplace cover

SS Nicolas Cuneo
Maker unknown
Half-hull model

SS India
Maker unknown
Half-hull model

Steam Yacht
Maker unknown
Half-hull model

Knight Templar
Maker unknown
Half-hull model

Tirpitz
Maker unknown

USS Preston (DD-327)
Maker unknown

Schooner Bluenose
Maker unknown

Lateen Sailing Vessel
Maker unknown

Sailing Vessel
Maker unknown

Ship’s Compass

Ship’s Clock

Brass Ship’s Compass

Brass Submarine Model

Bell Metal & Brass Polaris

Barometer

Salt & Pepper Tray in Shape of Steamship

Small Brass Compass

Brass Mouthpiece Whistle