About Us

R. Michael Wall is considered internationally to be an expert on ship models. He has specialized in the procurement, sale and conservation of exceptional one-of-a-kind ship models since 1975. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Business he started his first company specializing in ship models in Tiburon, California. In 1979 he was asked to establish a comparable business for The Maritime Gallery at the Mystic Seaport. It was there that he prepared, in conjunction with the staffs of Mystic Seaport, the Smithsonian Institution, and The Mariners’ Museum, a definitive report on the standards implied by the phrase “Museum Quality Ship Model.” The resulting publication, Ship Model Classification Guidelines, ©1980, has provided both builders and collectors with a standard by which they can analyze and evaluate the efforts put forth on a given ship model.

Establishing a new independent gallery at Salem, Massachusetts in 1982, he subsequently published work in 1991 on the ship model market and collecting, discussing Ship Models as an Art Form, as well as on the factors involved in professional Ship Model appraising. He has lectured or made presentations at numerous organizations including Eastern Yacht Club, American Yacht Club, Newport Harbor Yacht Club, St. Francis Yacht Club, Museum of Fine Arts, Addison Gallery of American Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Mystic Seaport Museum, Webb Institute, and the International Yacht Restoration School.

In 2008, after 26 years in Salem, he moved the gallery to his hometown of Gloucester.

Over his long career he has advised and assisted in the formation of numerous private, corporate, and institutional collections at the highest levels, some of which have been recently featured in such publications as ‘Architectural Digest’ and the ‘Catalog of Antiques and Fine Art’. He enjoys an outstanding international reputation for his discerning taste, discreet client relations, and utmost integrity.

Clients & References

He is a member of the International Congress of Maritime Museums, International Society of Appraisers, the U.S. Nautical Research Guild and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC).