Gordy and Madelane's
Great Pilgrimage
Observations and Digressions

These are the notes and pictures of a pilgrimage made by my sister and myself. I'm Gordy Coale and my sister is Madelane Coale. As with any group of pilgrims, we were searching for answers to common questions as well as answers to questions unique to each of us.

Our grandfather was Griffith Baily Coale, a mural painter in New York City. He was also responsible for starting the WWII Naval Combat Artist Program. The work he did for the Navy now resides at the Navy Art Gallery at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC. Griff's studio was in New York City at 125 West Eleventh Street. That is where my dad, Robert D. G. Coale, Sr. grew up. (I'm Junior.) Griff died in 1950, age 60, and my dad died in 1972, age 54.

Ten years ago Madelane wrote the Navy for information on our grandfather. The package of information she received has been the basis for my website on Griff and the impetus to want to see more. The web site about Griff's work in the Navy is at: Griff's Story.

There are many family stories about Griff and my dad and the studio in Greenwich Village. Madelane and I wanted to see the paintings and also to see the neighborhoods our dad grew up in. When Madelane got notice of her tax return, she called me and suggested we go to Washington, DC. This trip was paid for by my sister. Thank you , Madelane. This was a trip of a lifetime.

I exposed 20 rolls of film on this trip and kept a journal in a 5” x 8” notebook, that ended up running to 173 pages, covering a trip that lasted 10 days. This site is that journal and the photographs. I am up to the journal entries in Day 4, which takes us to page 54 of 173 pages and roll 4 of 20 rolls of film.