Titanic Expedition

Artist Roger Bansemer gets an unexpected invitation to dive two and a half miles down into the Atlantic to the site of one of the most famous shipwrecks in history. Armed with his artist’s eye and insight, he embarks on an expedition on a Russian research ship to the Titanic. In this compelling journal, Bansemer’s writing and stunning visual work bring us into the adventure, relaying the colorful characters on the expedition, the history and past grandeur of the Titanic, and the aching beauty of the ship’s underwater remains. Bansemer became the 112th person to dive to the Titanic, the sixth person under the stern, and the first artist to have painted Titanic on site. This book chronicles his journey in a mixture paintings, photos, and digitally-painted images. He almost didn’t make it out to the site as a hurricane churning in the southeast Atlantic kept him in St. John’s, Newfoundland, waiting. But an artist uses his time to observe and paint, and his love of painting nature and lighthouses thus play their part in this book too. Then his lifelong fascination with painting ships takes over as he sails out to the research vessel Keldysh. All the details of the adventure, the wondrous submersible Mir, and finally the ghostly remains of the Titanic appear from the artist’s brush.
A few select original paintings from Roger Bansemer’s book Journey to Titanic are still available to collectors. Bansemer is known around the world for his artistic skills and is considered on of America’s premier nautical and lighthouse painters. These works of art are true collectors items and are generally priced higher than other Bansemer paintings because of the historical circumstances from which they were created. The paintings are for those who want a distinctive and unique work in their Titanic collection from and artist/author who has actually spent time on the ocean floor with this great ship during the 2000 and 2005 expeditions.
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to see the Titanic first hand, Roger Bansemer’s book will take you there. Filled with his unique artwork and personal narrative this book is sure to be a collectors item.
This painting was done by artist & author Roger Bansemer for his book “Journey to Titanic.” Bansemer actually dove on the Titanic in August of 2000 which inspired the painting and the book. It is titled “Titanic’s Last Day,” and is available as a limited edition print. The original measures 17.5 x 28 inches. It is matted and has a deep frame. The outer dimensions including the frame are 23 x 42 inches Price on request.
Bansemer created this painting after having been in the Russian submersible, Mir 1 on a dive to the Titanic in August 2000. The dive lasted over 13 hours and Roger was the 112th person to have ever visited the site. The original painting measures 3×5 feet and is done in acrylic on canvas. The painting was used in the Bansemer’s book “Journey to Titanic.” The painting was also on display for several months at the Titanic exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Price on request.
Roger Bansemer created this painting for his book, “Journey to Titanic” and this was Mr. Bansemer’s first view of the Titanic after having descended 12,500 feet to where the ship rests. The original painting measures 3×5 feet and is done with acrylic on canvas. Price on request.
This is a very special small painting done by artist and author Roger Bansemer. To our knowledge, it is the first painting that was ever painted of the Titanic on the spot where Titanic sank. It wasn’t painted while on the bottom, but directly above the Titanic while Bansemer was on the research vessel Keldysh in August 2000. To see artwork that actually went down to the ship in the submersible in 2005 click here. The stamp in the upper left was the official stamp of the Mir I which included the names the pilot, copilot, the artist, the latitude, longitude, date, depth, etc.and was signed by the three that were onboard. Six of these paintings, all very similar were made while over the Titanic and a several are still available. The mat would have a remarque (small pencil drawing) as well as an actual chip of metal from the Titanic itself attached to an insert in the mat. Price on request.
Artist Roger Bansemer on his dive to the Titanic not only got to visit the bow of the ship but also got to spend a few moments under the stern. A place very few people have ever been. The painting is done in acrylic on illustration board and measures 25 x 16 inches. It is matted and framed and the size including the frame measures 29 x 38 inches. Price on request.
This painting is done in acrylic on illustration board. Presently this painting is unframed. Price $2400
A drawing by artist & author Roger Bansemer that was used in his book “Journey to Titanic” This original drawing is done in pencil on illustration board. Price on request.

Foreword by James Cameron

The epic story of the Titanic has fascinated me for years. In 1995, in connection with filming my movie, Titanic, I was able to gaze upon the remains of the stricken ship myself by being locked into a cramped submersible for long hours while it dove two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean. Using sophisticated remotely-operated cameras, it was possible to survey the interior of the vessel, including areas that had never before been photographed. More recently, while working on my IMAX film, Ghosts of the Abyss, I was able to mount a second expedition to the Titanic. Seeing the hull of the Titanic slowly appear as one sinks through pitch-black water is an incredibly moving experience perhaps best communicated through visual media. I have been able to use film to tell the story while Roger Bansemer, who accompanied an expedition for RMS Titanic, Inc. dove in the same submersible that I used during my filming to communicate his own story through his art. One of the most important facets of this book is the way Roger has captured not only the physical aspects of the Titanic but the complicated and sometimes dangerous chain of events preceding each dive as well as the dive itself where for sixteen hours at a stretch 125 million pounds of water pressure squeeze in on the hull of the submersible. In addition to these tremendous pressures there are other hazards everywhere among the wreck such as cables and unsuspected debris that can easily entrap a submersible with little chance escape should it happen. Being part of an expedition like this also entails a myriad of day-to-day activities. Bansemer takes the reader through the whole process, from leaving the port at St. Johns, Newfoundland, to resting above the site of the Titanic. His book is an illustrated journal and the first to offer a view of the real behind-the-scenes life aboard a research vessel on such an expedition. He invites us into the ship’s galley when meals are being prepared, gives us a glimpse of unsung crew members whose steady work makes the mission possible, and then shares the excitement of the submersibles as they launch and dive to the sunken ship. It was good to see my friend, Ralph White, among the faces in this book. Ralph, a submersible pilot and superb underwater photographer who helped film Titanic, was a vital part of this expedition and helped Roger understand and appreciate what an extraordinary thing it is to become one of the few people on earth to make the dive. I was also happy to see Anatoly Sagalevitch, who developed and pilots the submersible. Roger has captured his appropriately solemn demeanor while inside the Mir, something I, too, noticed during our remarkable days together. Despite years of work in attempting to show audiences what the Titanic was like in its short life at sea and how it has been affected by nearly a century at the bottom of the ocean, my fascination with it has not waned. In fact, I remain eager to learn more and see it from other perspectives, like the one created in this book. Years from now, when the process of disintegration is complete and the remains of the Titanic have disappeared, Roger Bansemer’s unique work will stand as a valuable record of the ship we both love. He has created a fine and important book filled with engaging artwork—another assurance that the legend of the Titanic and its now mythic status will endure. James Cameron