Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the 2025 Summer release of Easel, the Coast Guard Art Program Newsletter.
Each year jurors select a recipient for the George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence from the collection of artwork submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard Art Program. Leendert van der Pool is this year’s award winner for his artwork “Daring rescue.” This remarkable oil painting shows a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater rescue of a mariner and his dog off Sanibel Island on Florida’s West Coast.
The award-winning work was chosen by a panel of judges comprised of Rear Adm. Michael Platt, Coast Guard Northeast District Commander; Patrick O’Brien, artist and president of The American Society of Marine Artists; and artist Charles Yoder, a Salmagundi Club member and a former Art Committee Chair of the Club.
In talking about van der Pool’s award-winning work, Rear Adm. Platt said, “A rescue can be a complex and dangerous mission for our service. Leendert’s work brilliantly captures the action of a rescue mission and the painting’s artistic execution is outstanding.” The Dutch born artist, a former sailor for the Dutch merchant navy, worked on various ships including coasters, freighters and salvage ships. These experiences gave him insight into maritime subjects.
While van der Pool has never served in the Coast Guard, he has contributed 13 paintings to the Coast Guard Art Program, and 11 of these annual contributions were made consecutively, starting in 2015. He also won the prestigious George Gray Award in 2018.
The artist is a member of the Pastel Society of America and was awarded first prize in its 30th annual exhibition. He is also a member of the Salmagundi Club. In 2010, the artist was knighted by the Government of the Netherlands for his cultural contributions to that nation. He and his wife Elea-nor, herself an artist, reside six months in New York and six months in Paris.
Upon learning that he had won the George Gray Award, Mr. van der Pool remarked: “It came as a big surprise, indeed an exciting and joyful moment in my life. Thank you for this honor. I have always enjoyed participating in the Coast Guard Art Program and hope to continue to do so for many years to come. Knowing that my artwork, and that of my fellow Salmagundians, is being enjoyed by many is a humbling experience, for which I am truly grateful.”
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