Most recent grants
2009 - Naval sketchbooks: digital exploration of drawing at sea
A grant of $13,000 supported the digitization and online publication of a series of sketchbooks made by Royal Navy officers in the 18th and 19th centuries. The work has been carried out by the National Maritime Museum in the UK. This grant was made possible through a donation to the American Fund made by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
June 2009 - Fundraising tour of the US
A grant of $2,700 covered the costs of Director Kevin Fewster's recent fundraising trip to New York, Boston and Salem. The cornerstone of the trip was the opening of the exhibition of the NMM's Dutch Masters collection at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. This grant was made possible through a donation to the American Fund made by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
May 2009 - Funding of Views of Creation public lecture at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The American Fund supported this lecture given by Templeton Prize Laureate Professor Michael Heller, a professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Krakow, Poland, and a Vatican Observatory Adjunct Scholar. Professor Heller tackled the challenges involved in reconciling religion with the fast-moving world of 21st-century science. Professor Heller was introduced by well-known astronomer and Trustee of the NMM, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and there was also an opportunity for questions after the talk. This grant was made possible by a donation from the John Templeton Foundation. See Views on Creation page.
July 2008 - Scientific Voyaging Conference at the National Maritime Museum
The conference was organised in conjunction with the University of Cambridge and the Royal Society. The American Fund provided a grant towards the travel costs of US speakers Professor Daniella Bleichmar (University of Southern California), Professor Joyce Chaplin (Harvard) and Alastair Sponsel (University of Princeton).
November 2007 - The Atlantic Worlds Gallery
2007 marked the bicentenary of the Slave Trade Act, which began to put an end to the transatlantic slave trade. The American Fund supported this new permanent gallery at the NMM with a donation of $10,000. The gallery was complemented by innovative and engaging community programmes. The grant was made possible thanks to a gift from Lee MacCormick Edwards, American based donor and Patron.
October 2007 - Donation of artefacts from RMS Titanic relating to Jacob Birnbaum
The American Fund agreed that the National Maritime Museum was the most appropriate home for a collection of significant items relating to the sinking of RMS Titanic that had been donated to the Fund by Professor Daniel Branton, a descendent of Mr Jacob Birnbaum who was lost in the disaster of 1912. Items donated include personal letters, photographs, a gold pocket watch and the body tag of passenger Jacob Birnbaum, The objects will strengthen the National Maritime Museum's collections and its narrative of the Titanic tragedy.
2007 - Conservation and Digitization of van de Velde drawings
The NMM holds a world class collection of Dutch masters. In 2007 the American Fund supported the much needed conservation of the delicate and beautiful van de Velde drawings. With the help of the $25,000 grant, 1,500 drawings have been catalogued, photographed and published on line. The grant was made through the support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
2006 onwards - support for the NMM International Patrons Program
Since the launch of the NMM International Patrons Program donations to the American Fund have supported the regular activities of this special group of people both in the US and the UK. Through individual memberships, the American Fund has been able to support this program ensuring the Patrons' continued success.
2005 - The bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar
The American Fund granted $160,000 to the NMM for the international exhibition Nelson & Napoleon. This major show was the cornerstone of the commemorative events marking the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson. A donation to the American Fund by the Meitar Family Fund made this support possible.