Jesus art moved to prominence at Merchant Marine Academy

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday night said he’d ordered a painting of Jesus to be returned to prominent display at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. A lieutenant in the U.S. Maritime Service painted the large artwork, titled Christ on the Water, which depicts Jesus appearing to a lifeboat full of bedraggled merchant sailors, in 1944. The Merchant Marine Academy in 2023 moved the painting from a prominent place in a meeting room to a lower hallway after receiving a complaint that the painting’s positioning sent a message of preferred faith.

Duffy moved the artwork out of the flood-prone basement and back to its original location, according to a Transportation Department release shared with WORLD. The move signaled that the federal service academy’s Christian students should be proud of their faith, he said. The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration oversees the Merchant Marine Academy and six state maritime academies.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, thanked Duffy for restoring the painting to its original position. He sent Duffy’s predecessor a letter in 2023 expressing concern over the artwork’s relocation, he said.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on an education-focused hearing at the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission.