Portsmouth Peace Treaty Memorial Project

To raise money for the memorial, an original oil painting by celebrated maritime painter, and seacoast resident, Christopher J. Ward was commissioned. A limited edition of 900 museum quality prints has been published by the Memorial Fund for local, national and international distribution and sale.

PORTSMOUTH, NH  September 5, 2005 marked the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, a remarkable event which brought to an official end the largest, bloodiest, and most costly war in the history of the world up to 1905. The peace process that ended the war between Japan and Russia was orchestrated by US President Theodore Roosevelt  who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his efforts. The story of how the treaty came to be signed has ramifications to this day.

To celebrate the treaty, and the efforts that led up to it, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Anniversary Committee has established a Portsmouth Peace Treaty Memorial Fund, the proceeds of which will enable the commissioning of a memorial to be located in Portsmouth. The memorial is to be a permanent reminder of the event and a celebration of the roles Roosevelt, Japan, Russia, the US Navy, the State of New Hampshire, and the citizens of Portsmouth played in the treaty negotiations.

According to the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire, one of the organizations involved with the Memorial Fund Committee, the Treaty exemplifies the ability of local citizens to mediate informally international disputes. As hosts for thirty days in August 1905, the State of New Hampshire, the people of Portsmouth, and the United States Navy fostered goodwill between Russian and Japanese delegates during the critical peace negotiations that ended the Russo-Japanese War. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty provides an example to the world of the enlightened foreign policy for peace by Japan, Russia, and the United States. It is considered one of the most powerful symbols of peace in the world, and the most significant, shared peace in the history of Russia, Japan, and the United States.

"In 1905 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an uncommon commitment to peace became a common virtue."

The committee commissioned a painting by celebrated maritime painter, and seacoast resident, Christopher J. Ward, from which limited edition prints were made. The painting depicts the arrival of the Russian and Japanese delegates in August 1905 and their transit through Portsmouth Harbor transit, in US Navy motor launches, to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard where the Treaty was negotiated and signed. It includes images of the USS Dolphin, the North Church steeple, St. John's Church, Merchant's Row storehouses, the Moffatt-Ladd House, the SS Mineola Isles of Shoals ferry, and other historically accurate sights of 1905. A limited edition of 900 individually signed and numbered prints is now available. To view an image of the print, click here. Purchasers of the prints will be credited as "Founders"  of the Memorial and their names will be listed on the permanent Portsmouth Peace Treaty website (click here) and in a commemorative piece. 

Individually signed, numbered, and embossed prints have been produced on Arches Infinity sheets, a museum quality archival paper. A limited number of the prints will be remarqued by the artist. A certificate of authenticity from the Peace Treaty Memorial Fund accompanies each print.

The unframed print is available in two sizes: Large (13'" x 30") and Small (10" x 22") for the same price of $695.

The prints are available at Kennedy Studios Gallery & Custom Framing, 41 Market Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Telephone 603-436-7007.

Matted and framed prints (neutral linen mat and gilded rope edge wood frame) are also available through the Japan-America Society of NH. These framed prints are 25" x 39" overall and are $950. Telephone: 603-436-4010.