Regent Seven Seas Cruises Launches Multi-Million-Dollar Art Collection aboard Seven Seas Grandeur

Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the world’s top luxury cruise company, announced today the specifics of its latest multi-million-dollar art collection, which will be displayed on the cruise line’s newest ship, Seven Seas Grandeur. The 1,600-piece collection, primarily comprised of modern art, took nearly two years to select and commission, with artists and galleries from all over the world being sourced. This breathtaking collection of works will be unveiled when the new ship is launched in November 2023.

As an additional first at sea, Regent will debut a digital art tour called Art Experience, accessible via the new Regent Mobile App, which will also be available on Seven Seas Grandeur. The digital art tour will present guests with an immersive, interactive experience that will allow them to engage not just with the artwork but also with the artist who made it.

The tour will highlight pieces by Rauschenberg, Matta, Sophie Elizabeth Thompson, and Eduardo Arranz-Bravo in central guest areas. Luxury guests will be able to scan selected artworks via the app and find a film linking them to the artist, their technique, and their inspiration for the creation, thanks to professional technology.

The new Regent Mobile App will allow guests to read the daily programme guide Passages, access the shore excursion catalogue, all restaurant menus, and the ship phone directory while on board.

“With each new ship, our team works tirelessly to identify and source the most impressive array of art pieces, building a collection that would be enviable by most modern-day museums to ensure our guests’ time onboard is as enriching and thought-provoking as their time on land,” said Andrea DeMarco, president and CEO of Regent Seven Seas

“It is extremely rare to have such personal access to artwork of this calibre, and now, through our first-ever virtual art tour, guests will be able to connect deeper with the art and artists they’ve fallen in love with onboard our ships.” Seven Seas Grandeur will be one of the most captivated galleries Regent’s art-loving guests have ever explored.”

Since the exterior design of the first piece of art, a commissioned Fabergé Egg, ‘Journey in Jewels,’ was shown last year, the highly anticipated art series has been a topic of conversation. The internal design and mechanics of this one-of-a-kind artwork, the first and only Fabergé Egg to stay permanently at sea, remain a mystery and will be revealed alongside the entire art collection during Seven Seas Grandeur’s christening in Miami this December.

Sarah Fabergé, Founding Member of The Fabergé Heritage Council and great-granddaughter of Peter Carl Fabergé, will serve as Godmother of Seven Seas Grandeur, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced earlier this year. One of Sarah’s first duties as Godmother will be to entertain art lovers on board Seven Seas Grandeur on a unique Spotlight Voyage in July, including behind-the-scenes access to Fabergé through master classes and shoreside excursions.

The commissioned Fabergé Egg will be joined by a number of significant works as the centrepieces of the Seven Seas Grandeur art collection, including a breathtaking almost 40-foot-tall hand-woven tapestry, “The Enchanted Tree,” created by world-renowned Brazilian artist Walter Goldfarb. The close tapestry will be displayed parallel to the elevator wall in the ship’s luxurious atrium, providing several views of this breathtaking accomplishment of delicately woven textiles.

Another exclusive piece in the collection is a custom-made bronze and hand-cast glass Bonsai Cherry Tree Sculpture by Savoy Studios. This creates an immersive entry to Pacific Rim, the ship’s pan-Asian speciality restaurant. The delicate installation contrasts with the Pacific Rim entrance pieces of a Tibetan Prayer Wheel and a Mythical Dragon aboard Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Splendour.

Trees are a recurring design feature for Seven Seas Grandeur, as seen in the largest speciality restaurant at sea, Compass Rose. When visitors enter the restaurant, they will be seated beneath a canopy of interwoven crystal and wood-edged lit trees, creating the sense of dining in an enchanted forest with thousands of carefully placed crystal-faceted leaves surrounding the restaurant in an awe-inspiring display.

Sarah Hall Smith, Regent’s Art Director, spent over two years piecing together the extraordinary art collection aboard Seven Seas Grandeur, assisting in curating the collections on sister ships Seven Seas Splendour and Seven Seas Explorer.

“Seven Seas Grandeur is inspired by the past, reimagined for the future,” Sarah Hall Smith, Art Director for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said. “The artwork featured on Seven Seas Grandeur includes work from some of the most notable artists of our time, from Pablo Picasso to Eduardo Arranz-Bravo, as well as unique installations and features such as the largest hand-woven tapestry on board a Regent ship, a hand-cast glass Bonsai Cherry Tree Sculpture and first Fabergé egg to live permanently at sea.”

The curated art collection at Seven Seas Grandeur includes works by artists from all over the world in various categories, including sculpture, original paintings, photos, and more.

Highlights include:

• Pablo Picasso (Lithograph and Linocut). “Toros y Toreros”, “Antes de picar al toro” and “Picador picando al toro, con matador al quite”
  • Three Picasso works are on display in Prime 7 on deck 10. From the colourful costumes and movements of the matadors to the majestic power of the bulls, each painting offers a glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of Spain. These artworks are windows into a world that is both beautiful and dangerous, where tradition and spectacle collide in a display of courage and skill.
• Fabergé: “Journey in Jewels”
  • “Journey in Jewels” will be displayed in the Atrium in Deck 5 and embodies the Regent sailing experience with a cascading waterfall of ocean greens and subtle turquoise throughout its three-tiered base, while the outer shell features soothing deep blue waves that break into a sea spray of pearls. The outer egg ‘shell’ is comprised of seven blades, representing the seven seas, which will unfurl to reveal a surprise hidden inside, details of which are being kept as a closely guarded secret until Seven Seas Grandeur’s christening.
• Savoy Studios: “Bonsai Cherry Tree”
  • Exclusively created by Savoy Studios is a custom-made bronze and hand-cast glass Bonsai Cherry Tree sculpture, creating an experiential entrance to Pacific Rim, the ship’s pan-Asian specialty restaurant on Deck 5.
• Walter Goldfarb: “The Enchanted Tree”
  • The close to 40-foot-tall tapestry, “The Enchanted Tree”, will hang adjacent to the elevator wall in the ship’s lavish atrium on Deck 6, giving multiple vantage points of this breathtaking feat of intricately woven textiles.
• Zheng Lu: “Water in Dripping – Waterfall”
  • The stainless-steel sculpture “Water in Dripping – Waterfall” by Zheng Lu can be found at Serene Spa & Wellness on Deck 5.

The ship itself is a work of art. In addition to several notable design touchpoints, Seven Seas Grandeur, the sister ship to the acclaimed Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Splendor, will exemplify Regent’s 30-year heritage of perfection with unrivalled space, unparalleled service, and transformative experiences that will begin the moment guests step on board.

The new Regent Mobile App can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play starting in December 2023, providing guests sailing on board Seven Seas Grandeur with exclusive access to Art Experience.