Marine artist, Joseph A. Wilhelm was a native of New Orleans. Wilhelm began his career as one of the country's preeminent marine ship modelers. Wilhelm's artistic skills and attention to minute details first found expression in model railroad hobby magazines. In the 1950's and 60's he was a constant contributor to the principal national railroad magazines describing detailed structures that he built for this hobby. He advanced into ship models of intricate detail and finally turned to painting on canvas as an art he joked that was "easier on my eyes".

Influenced by a childhood spent along the Mississippi River, he started painting harbor scenes that depicted the character and romance of the great merchant vessels that traded in the ...