ABOUT THE ARTIST

A self-taught artist with little formal training, Ken Marschall is best known for his evocative, haunting paintings of Titanic. He accepted his first commission to paint the liner in 1969 at the age of 18. Over the decades since, he has been repeatedly asked to portray this most famous of ships from almost every angle, taking pride in making each creation unique.

To satisfy his penchant for accuracy and detail, Ken has amassed one of the most extensive archives of Titanic and related reference photographs anywhere. His familiarity with the ship has made him much in demand for consultation on everything from model kits to motion pictures, and he has been asked to participate in documentaries, exhibitions and countless other projects.

Ken's painting style is almost a lack of style––historical "portraits" so intricate and refined, so breathtaking in lighting and drama, that they are sometimes mistaken for photographs. Paintings have been commissioned or are in the collections of such notables as the late Walter Lord, astronaut Neil Armstrong, Robert Ballard, James Cameron, the National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery. He has illustrated numerous books, many by Ballard, and accompanied the explorer on expeditions to Lusitania and Britannic, diving in subs to both wrecks. His paintings have been featured on the covers of Time, Life and National Geographic, to name a few.

The artist's impressive work in the best-selling book Titanic: An Illustrated History inspired Writer/Director James Cameron who asked Ken to be the Visual Historian for the sets and miniatures of TITANIC (1997). Sharing images and artifacts from his personal collection with set designers, model builders and prop makers enabled remarkable accuracy in the recreation of the great liner. The influence of Ken's paintings and expertise can be seen throughout Cameron's stunning motion picture which went on to win a record-tying 11 Academy Awards.

In 2001 he accompanied Cameron to the North Atlantic to explore Titanic in greater detail than ever before for the large-format 3-D film Ghosts of the Abyss. Ken assisted in dive planning and dissecting the imagery brought back by the two mini-"bots" that toured deep inside the ship's remains. In 2005 he was again asked to join Cameron on a Titanic expedition, this one documented in the Discovery Channel's Last Mysteries of the Titanic, and made his sixth dive to that wreck.

Ken also spent many years as a matte and visual effects artist in the film industry. His work is immortalized in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Terminator, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, Roswell, and numerous others. He shared in an Emmy Award for his many matte paintings in The Winds of War.