Maya Lin: The Hudson Bight

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Maya Lin is widely regarded as one of the most influential American artists of her generation. Deeply concerned with environmental issues, Lin incorporates current scientific knowledge into her art that often explores waterways, while calling attention to their vulnerability. In her research, she draws upon advanced topographical imaging, such as underwater sonar, that has improved maps of the ocean floor. Using scale and perspective, Lin draws attention to a critical aspect of our interconnected landscape that is otherwise invisible to us.

This dramatic hanging sculpture, which Lin considers a “drawing in space,” is a recent gift from the artist. Here, she depicts part of the underwater geological formation of the Hudson Canyon, which extends more than 400 miles from the mouth of the Hudson River across the Continental Shelf to the Continental Rise in the Atlantic Ocean. Inspired by a 2018 U.S. Geological Survey expedition, The Hudson Bight was the centerpiece of the Hudson River Museum’s exhibition Maya Lin: A River Is a Drawing, which opened later that year.

The Hudson Canyon is home to a wide array of sea life, an ecosystem highly threatened by global warming. It was first systematically explored in 1925 and, since 2016, scientists and conservationists have been advocating for its designation as a National Marine Sanctuary by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Such a designation would safeguard fragile deep-sea habitats, protect marine wildlife (such as sperm whales, sea turtles, and deep-sea corals), ensure respect for Indigenous maritime heritage, and support sustainable regional fisheries and recreation.