Work by Sabina Streeter, Designed by Cerstin Schoenfeld

Works by Sabina Streeter
Opening reception: Saturday, October 7th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

Captain David Hand VI; celebrated Revolutionary war hero, shore whaling captain, and real-life inspiration for James Fenimore Cooper’s great American saga, the Leather Stocking Tales, had a colorful and mysterious life.

A prisoner of war five times before the age of twenty, Captain Hand was nicknamed “Slippery Dave” for his numerous escapes from British prison-ships. After the war, Hand returned to his beloved cottage on Church Street in Sag Harbor and began a career as a shore whaler - but the controversy continued.

Captain David Hand was married five times - four of his young wives died mysteriously one after the other -- he outlived them all.

Today, Captain Hand and his five wives remain buried in the Oakland cemetery, with epitaphs that haunt and stir the imagination.

The Five Wives of Captain Hand: A Maritime Mystery presents artist Sabina Streeter’s historical reinterpretation of the infamous Captain David Hand and his five unfortunate wives. 

Media coverage:

The Sag Harbor Express - "Then There Were Five: Capt. David Hand and the Women he Married and Buried."