Ellen Rice Studio of Fine Art
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 *Some exceptions apply.

​Treasure Beaches of the Mid-Atlantic
A factual visual history of America's busiest maritime passageway from the 1500s through mid-1800s
Copyright Ellen H. Rice, Ocean View, Delaware. All rights reserved.

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This is a nationally best selling work of art and history, seen on television, written about by newspapers across the country and chosen to represent the State of Delaware on
QVC's "Quest for America's Best".


The map's companion piece, Treasure Legends of the Mid-Atlantic, reveals more about the map's history and provides a key to the abbreviations used on the map.

The original is sold.
​Fine art reproductions are available in two sizes.
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This work of history and art by Delaware artist Ellen Rice is the product of a lifelong interest in maritime history and a love of the Mid-Atlantic coastline. More than 15 years of research and over 2000 hours of calligraphy, pen & ink drawings and watercolor painting with the same watercolor formulas used in the time period went into the making of this, the first visual recording of one of our early nation's greatest ports, its lost ships and rumored "Treasure Beaches."

​"For several centuries, the Mid-Atlantic coastline served as the busiest maritime passageway of the Americas," writes the artist. "Nor-easters, hurricanes and other storms, shifting sand shoals, pirates and licensed privateers made this ocean route among the most hazardous of the New World. Thousands of English, Colonial, Spanish, Dutch and French sailing vessels, some identified, many more not, lie at the bottom of the ocean, the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and their tributaries.... Coins, jewelry, pottery and other invaluable artifacts of the past continually wash up on these shores, waiting to tell their tales."
It was these treasures and their untold stories which first lured Ellen Rice, then primarily a landscape and seascape artist, into the research and creation of the map. Local lore had it that if you walked along the Delaware or Maryland coast during or after a storm, you might find old coins - Spanish doubloons, pieces of eight and other treasures from sunken ships - washing ashore at your feet. (Below, a 24-carat gold-plated replica of a King George III rose gold guinea found near the 1785 wreck of The Faithful Steward.
The Art of the Hunt

The Gannett News Service story that went around the country and helped make Ellen Rice's map a national bestseller.


A unique treasure map documents a Seaford artist's search for shipwrecks and buried riches.

By Annette C. Silva, special to The News Journal

Treasure Beaches of the Mid-Atlantic takes the viewer back in time from the Medieval 1500s when Spaniards searched for gold and silver on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, then called Bahia De Santa Maria, until the mid-1800s and the advent of the U.S. Cutter Revenue Service, predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The artist corroborated every fact on the map. Anything that could not be corroborated was omitted or designated questionable. Several of the ships portrayed were drawn numerous times to assure accuracy as new information came to light from archives and maritime archeologists.
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To Ellen, the granddaughter of two U.S. Navy admirals, the creation of Treasure Beaches of the Mid-Atlantic was a way of preserving a part of history and way of life that is fast disappearing at the bottom of the ocean. "The ocean floor and ancient artifacts, which do indeed wash ashore after severe storms, are time capsules of knowledge from which we can learn, " she says.
​
"I hope my map will in some small way help stir further efforts toward responsible research, exploration, recovery and preservation of our nation's maritime history - and more than that - create in our children an interest in the lessons history can teach."

Accompanying the Captain's Edition of Ellen Rice's Treasure Beaches of the Mid-Atlantic map is a 24-carat gold- plated, numbered coin replica made from a King George III Rose Gold Guinea found on the shoreline of Delaware's "Coin Beach" adjacent to the 1785 wreck of the Irish merchant ship Faithful Steward (depicted on the map).

The original coin is on display in the coastal Fenwick Island, Delaware, DiscoverSea Museum, founded by Dale Clifton, who recovered the coin. Each of the map's 300 replica coins is engraved on the back with the number of the map it accompanies.

She drew the foundation of the map with information culled from eight different charts and maps from the late 1600s and early 1700s, including an original 1673 Augustine Hermann map conveyed to her by its owner.

From these time-worn documents came original names of more 2,000 towns, rivers, creeks, Colonial settlements, known pirate's isles and holds, manors, plantations, native American villages, and gold & silver mines from the 1500s through mid-1700s. On no other map is this information combined.
The Captain's Edition is one of 17 works of art by Ellen Rice on display in 
Bethany Beach Oceanside Suites, a Marriott Residence Inn

​
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This timeless map was featured on QVC representing Delaware in its "Quest for America's Best"
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​30124 Territory Trail, Ocean View, DE 19970 
Hours:
Friday and Saturday 10 to 4
Sunday 12 to 3

Other days by calling for an appointment.
​  (302) 539-3405

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​All images, design and text Copyright Ellen Rice Associates, LLC, Ocean View, Delaware, 2022. All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • Original Paintings
    • Original oils and pastels
    • Portraits & Other Commissions
  • Strength of Women Series
    • About the Series
    • Standing on the Rock Vol I
    • The Journey Vol II
    • No Way Out Vol III
    • Freedom Vol IV
    • The Narrow path Vol V
    • Reflection Vol VI
    • In God's Hands Vol VII
    • Whatsoever things are lovely Vol VIII
  • Prints
    • About Ellen Rice Prints
    • Indian River Inlet
    • Seascapes and Beach
    • Bay Scenes
    • Maps & Treasure Coast History
    • Lighthouses, Coast Guard Stations & Delaware's Watchtowers
    • Paintings Created to Uplift
    • Children's Prints and Portraits
    • Dog Portraits & Prints
    • Pony & Horse Portraits & Prints
    • Trees, Nature & Wildlife Landscapes
    • Nature and Wildlife
    • Pen, Ink, Watercolor & Pencil Drawings
  • Studio Notes
  • Gifts & gift cards
    • Ellen's Small Gifts
    • LEAF LEATHER by CL Whiting >
      • Card Cases & Other Small Accessories
      • Classic Handbags
      • Coinpurse & Cosmetic
      • Leather-Edged Bags
      • Small Bags
      • Totes
      • Working Bags
      • Men's Wallets
      • Women's Wallets
    • American Hand Made >
      • CERAMICS, POTTERY and RAKU >
        • J. Davis Raku InnerSpirit Rattles & Ornaments
      • CLOCKS & TOYS by Laughing Moon
      • GLASS ART >
        • Chiara Reading Stained Glass
        • Justin Cavagnaro Glass Art
        • Luke Adams Blown Glass
      • JEWELRY BY THE SHORE >
        • Austin Cake's Sun Sea Sand Sea Glass Jewelry
        • Meg's Prism Sea Glass Jewelry
        • Diane Page Beach Glass Jewelry Designs
        • Kim Doughty-Cavagnaro
      • PUPPETS & PUPPET KITS - Cate & Levi
      • WOOD >
        • Steve Baldwin Wooden Toys
    • GIFT CARDS
  • About
    • About the Studio
    • About Ellen Rice
    • About Ellen Rice Prints
    • Staff
    • Services & Policies
  • Special Offers
  • Virtual Wall
  • Visit the studio, where & when
  • Contact