by Jorge Gomez • 2 minutes
A painting of Jesus Christ is once again on display at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
On Monday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the newly restored “Christ on the Water” painting has been returned to its original place of prominence.
For nearly 80 years, this historic painting hung in the Elliot M. See Room of Wiley Hall. But in 2023, Biden administration officials relocated and stashed it away in the flood-prone basement of the Academy’s chapel. Secretary Duffy promised earlier this year to bring the painting up from out of the basement.
The previous administration made that move after receiving complaints from a radical group known for attacking and threatening legal action against virtually form of religious expression in the military.
“Burying this historic painting in the basement wasn’t just a mistake—it was an insult to the faith and legacy of service that built this Academy and our nation,” Secretary Duffy said. “By restoring ‘Christ on the Water’ to its rightful place, we sent a clear message to our midshipmen: their Christian faith is a virtue to be proud of, not something to be censored.”
“I want to thank Secretary Duffy for his continued support of our Academy and the midshipmen who call this place home,” said U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Acting Superintendent Captain Tony Ceraolo.
“Our purpose today is to preserve a piece of the Academy’s cultural and historical legacy,” Ceraolo continued. “We honor the past and the resilience of those who came before us. This painting is about history, remembrance, and hope ensuring that the story of our midshipmen and their wartime experiences remain part of our shared institutional memory.”
The restoration of this historic painting is a tremendous win for religious liberty in the military, and a clear message that expressions of faith are an integral part of our nation’s military history and legacy. As such, they should be celebrated and cherished—not censored.
To celebrate the painting’s restoration, the DOT held a special unveiling ceremony. Watch below:
LT Hunter Wood—a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Maritime Service—painted the piece in 1944 specifically for the chapel under construction at the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Basic School in San Mateo, California. It depicts a merchant seaman sitting on a lifeboat navigating choppy waters, alongside several wounded and weary men.
According to the DOT, the painting is “a tribute to all merchant seamen, especially to cadet-midshipmen who’d been torpedoed during World War II.”
The painting was transferred to Kings Point in 1947, after the San Mateo campus was closed due to budgetary constraints. It was put on display at Wiley Hall, “which served as the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s interfaith chapel from 1942 to 1961.” It hung there for nearly 80 years until the Academy took it down in 2023.
In 2023, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sent a letter to the Academy expressing his concern about the decision to move and cover the painting.
“Under the Supreme Court’s standard for longstanding government displays, the painting is perfectly in keeping with the Establishment Clause,” Sen. Cruz wrote. “Your decision to move it, and to discontinue use of the conference room it presently is located in, is regrettable and suggests you believe a painting that tens of thousands of Midshipmen, faculty, staff, and visitors have viewed for more than half a century is now suddenly unconstitutional.”
Thanks to the leadership of Secretary Duffy, the painting is now back where rightfully—and legally—belongs: on full display for all service members and guests to remember and honor mariners lost at sea during WWII.
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