Below, I have in some cases given two or three works by their artist and BHC numbers to demonstrate the flavour of what I have in mind. In others (where I don't know the material, or where the themes are very broad, the authors could choose their own works). Again, some of the following items might be filled by getting reproduction permission for chapters/sections of books.

The rationale for casting the net so broadly is provided in a page dedicated to coverage.

Very Broad Themes

1. importance of the sea in the British identity; for a 20th century perspective try Lewis Johnman, (Westminster), interested in 20th c. British & international economic history; 20th c. British industrial & business history; British maritime history;
2. the mechanics of commissioning, making, exhibiting and selling works of art, if possible divided by century, perhaps with a focus on the 18th and 19th centuries; this should of course concentrate on the how and the why of maritime art as the Catalogue says, and really needs somebody who works in archives to make a good job of it;
3. the ideologies of maritime art - again, as the Catalogue says, a maritime painting stands as a document not simply of what it depicts but of its ideological input and output too. This theme could be treated either broadly, or by a close study of one or two paintings; NB the wider horizons of ideology will require study of works beyond paintings, such as prints and newspapers;
4. how artworks relate together: paintings with prints; watercolours with paintings;
5. how artworks relate to the events or situations they help publicize; try John C. R. Childs, (Leeds), interested in War in modern world 1500-1995;
6. nature of life and work at sea through the paintings;
7. the iconography of maritime atlases: atlases were an important item of national/discovery prestige, and sumptuously done: how about a piece on Blaeu's Atlas?;
8. how to depict sea battles? i.e. no decisive moment as needed for history painting on land; try Andrew D. Lambert, Lect. in War Stud., King's College, University of London (Dept. of War Studies);
9. trade and war -> struggle with Dutch, American colonies; try Jonathan I. Israel, Prof. of Dutch Hist. & Institutions University College, University of London (Dept. of History);
10. ships as historical documents: what can we learn about ships in historical time from paintings of them?
11. ships as archaeological documents: what can we learn about ships in earlier times from their archaeology? Try John S. Illsley, (Bangor), interested in history & archaeology of the ship 2000 B.C.-1500 A.D.;
12. the previous two might conflate into a piece on The archaeology of ships versus ships in paintings: try David J.L. Gibbins, Lect. in Anc. Hist. & Classical Archaeol. University of Liverpool (School of Archaeology, Classics & Oriental Studies);

Overviews

1. British overseas trade and its protection in war and peace; try David M. Williams, Sen. Lect. in Econ. & Soc. Hist., University of Leicester (Dept. of Economic & Social History) (research interest in maritime history since 1750); or try Richard H. Harding, Principal Lecturer, University of Westminster (Faculty of Business & Management (Harrow);
2. The Allegorical Portrait: e.g. Gascard's James II (BHC2797), Francken's Ships distracted by mermaids (BHC0708), in order to explicate how allegory - just like the depiction of action - allows paintings to tell a sophisticated story;
3. Marine paintings and the history of fashion: Margaret Scott, Courtauld Institute, University of London (interested in dress history);
4. Romanticism in marine painting: Professor William Vaughan, Birkbeck College, University of London (especially interested in Romanticism, German painting);
5. The painting of port-scenes in the British and French traditions: Philip Conisbee, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (expert on Vernet and French painting);
6. Shipwrecks form a strong category, much beloved of the flagellatory Romantic period, although there are much earlier examples - e.g. van Wieringen's Wreck of the Amsterdam (BHC0724), Dodd's series of the Loss of the Ramillies (BHC2212, 2213, 2214, 2215, 2217);
7. British 18th marine painting and the landscape tradition: Michael J. H. Liversidge, Art History, University of Bristol;
8. Women all at sea: serving the Royal Navy in the 19th century: Lynda Nead, Birkbeck College, University of London (representations of femininity in 19thC Britain); include Ibbetson's Sailors carousing (BHC1090);
9. pirates and piracy might make a good topic, if it can be kept non-sensational, and perhaps linked to trade, the Spanish silver fleet, Drake etc? Try John R. Fisher, (Liverpool), interested in Spanish imperial policy; Peru 18th-19th c.;

Technical Section

1. Maritime science in maritime art: the paintings of the NMM: Professor Martin Kemp, University of Oxford (specialist on science in art);
2. Ships in action: how naval battles were fought: using e.g. the Armada painting at BHC0262, Wou's Battle of Scheveningen at 0279, almost any of the great 18th century battles, including a whole suite by Whitcombe (e.g. 0445, 0446, 0505), and Dodd's Copenhagen (BHC0526); plus attacks on board individual ships, such as Jones' Nelson at Cape S Vincent (BHC0492), and Drummond's Rogers capturing the Jeune Richard (BHC0579), as well as his Surrender at camperdown (BHC0506); plus attack onto land, e.g.Willaerts' Squadron attacking a Spanish fortress at BHC0801, and Jones' Manning the Guns (BHC1079); and to complete naval actions, amphibious landings, e.g. the 17thC landings at Torbay and Carrickfergus, 0330 & 0326;
3. Since I would guess O'Brian's work has had a good influence on attendance figures at the NMM, might an essay on him and his work be in order? And perhaps pairing it with:
4. Fighting a Ship in the Revolutionary Wars: Would it be possible (and worth it?) to get permission to quote some O'Brian extracts to go with an essay on this subject? I assume plenty of people come to ships and the sea through O'Brian's (almost cult) works as, in the past, one did via Swallows and Amazons or The Riddle of the Sands. People appear to take such "technical" books very seriously; so that The Patrick O'Brian Companion sits beside other historical novel series (Flashman et al);

Narrower Topics listed chronologically within type

Portraiture

1. A setting-the-scene piece surveying Naval Portraiture could include not only the artists named below, but also Copley, Dobson, Abbott, Beechey and Romney;
2. Lely, Kneller, Dobson, Dahl and naval art, using e.g. Lely's 2949 and Kneller's 2611; - will make a good pair with the Reynolds item (below); together with Dahl's work, makes an excellent suite;
3. Joshua Reynolds and the Sea Captains: David M. Mannings, University of Aberdeen (researches on Reynolds); as well as treating the iconography/allegory of such portraits, might go well with some of the works of JS Copley, such as 2670 & 2705;
4. Gainsborough's John Montagu, 4th Earl Sandwich, and the Italian tradition of portraiture (BHC3009) is worth an essay to itself, which would include not only the many works of similar type (e.g. Kneller, Reynolds), but also perhaps pit this Gainsborough favourably against other works by this great portraitist;
5. Hogarth's Portrait of Inigo Jones or Hogarth and the Conversation Piece, the former concentrating on BHC2810, the latter on 2720 & 2973; this should include Dobson's Inigo Jones (BHC2809), and his Portrait of a Royalist (BHC3133) if the latter is a good painting (Dobson is an excellent painter, but I don't remember seeing this work);
6. Portraits of ships: I imagine ships got their portraits painted in much the same manner as racehorses. Is there scope here for an essay on theis question?

War, Invasion, etc

1. The Bayeux Tapestry and the Invasion of England: important for us to locate art with history/politics, and to inculcate the notion of works of art as (sometimes important) documents whether in fact or in propaganda; and this is a vivid way of so doing; try perhaps Simon L. Adams, (Strathclyde), interested in 16th-17th c. Elizabethan politics & foreign policy; or try him for the Armada piece below;
2. The Armada using English School's BHC0262, Gheeraerts' Drake at BHC2662, and his Earl of Essex at 2681; are there prints and drawings which could also be used for this item? Try C.L. Todd Gray, dept of History, University of Exeter (interested in 16th & 17thC British maritime history); or Susan Rose, Sen. Lect. teaching 15th-16th c. Brit. & Eur., Naval History, Roehampton Institute, London (Dept. of History);
3. Aleccio's series on The Siege of Malta; could be themed as an introduction to the Christan struggle against the Turks (which took up a large amount of Philip II's energies); try Roger Morriss, (Exeter), interested in Early Mod. & Mod. Maritime & Naval Hist.;
4. The War Artist from Napoleon to WWII: as well as specific essays on individual periods (see below), an overview essay could be used to demonstrate changing fashions and horizons, linked of course with propaganda and sometimes censorship. Such an essay would perforce include photography and film amongst its examples; in which case try Alan P. Williams, (Westminster), interested in Film & propaganda in Britain;

Docks, Ports, Harbours, Rivers

1. Greenwich in the Italian Manner: Canaletto's BHC1827:; compare it with van Wittel's Naples in BHC1900. This is a painting that deserves an item to itself, so deal with the tradition of vedute;
2. Shipbuilding and naval dockyards: J. Cleveley's BHC 3762, J. Marshall's 3323, Farington's views of Chatham (1782) and Deptford (1874); Whitcombe's Shipbuilding on the Thames (BHC1781); Holman's views of a Thames shipyard (BHC1059) andf Blackwall Yard (BHC1866);
3. Historical topography of ports etc: what can marine paintings tell us about the dispositions - defences, fortresses, warehouses, etc - of British and foreign ports? Try Sarah B. Palmer, (Greenwich), interested in 19th-20th c. European ports & industry;

Exploration, Trade and Travel

1. Needs an introduction on Britain and the Discovery of the World, providing an overview of exploration, maps and charts, and trading setups, and emphasising what other naval powers were doing; there are plenty of paintings in the NMM collections to develop a wide-ranging and interesting essay, and objects and documents from the collections are especially appropriate here; try Jeremy M. Black, (Exeter), interested in Early Mod. Warfare; international relations; historical atlases;
2. William Hodges: his work in the 18th century context: Michael Rosenthal, University of Warwick (interested in English art and exploration, and in the culture of colonialism); or give it to Geoffrey Quilley, Art History, University of Leicester (also interested in art and colonialism);

Politics and Propaganda

1. iconography of marine painting -> control and possession; contention with foreign powers; internal/external propaganda;
2. maritime painting at the Royal Academy and the French Salons; try Nicholas A.M. Rodger, Resident Fellow in History, (specialising in maritime history) University of Exeter (Department of History);
3. Artists and war: first "on the spot" works under Napoleon, but then focus on the War Artists schemes for WWI & WWII. These should include photography and film, the rationale for so doing being that these are just new media in which propaganda (of various kinds) may be expressed; try David Gates, (Lancaster), interested in Eur. Milit. Hist. Napoleonic Wars; Seven Years' War;
4. The propaganda of colonialism: is there sufficient material for the "selling" of the colonies via paintings of new worlds? Try Trevor Burnard, (Brunel University), interested in Amer. Colonial Hist., West Indies; slavery; 18th c. America; or try Jenel Virden, (Hull), interested in Immigration, war & society;
5. British seapower paintings as propaganda (choose dates): Professor Marcia Pointon, Dept of History of Art, University of Manchester;
6. propaganda in the maritime art of the Revolutionary Wars: - whether implicit (Britain's greatness) or explicit (Britain will beat or has beaten Enemy X); try ASlan I. Forrest, Alan I. (York), interested in the French Revolution, provincial history, citizenship, and military culture;
7. Rule Britannia in prints: Any treatment of propaganda will require treatment of prints - i.e. the medium through which propaganda percolates to the masses. Not to build in prints at this stage would be to omit a very important element in the "machinery" of art history; try Ray Sibbald, (De Montfort, Leicester), interested in 18th c. Russia, 18th-19th c. warfare, and The army & navy of Peter the Great;
8. The Genre of the Sea: 19thC bursts of naval pride: using such as Davidson's Pensioner's Story (1815), and his England's Pride and Glory (1811)

Like Antique Gods and heroes

1. Setting the scene for this section, Naval art and the antique, from Augustus to Nelson: would deal with the influence of the classical tradition, not just as a subject for paintings (e.g. Battle of Actium, in Castro's BHC0251, through Reynolds' Keppel (2832), based on the Apollo Belvedere, to the several Nelson deathbed scenes, e.g. Devis' 2894, based on classical sarcophagi; in addition, many naval portraits derive ultimately from classical sculpture - a fact underlined by the rampant classicism of the tombs of the Revolutionary Wars in S. Paul's - the Pantheon of the British to parallel (quite deliberately) the Pantheon in Paris; the Monument to Capt. Faulknor at BHC2317 is an excellent example of the type;
2. Nelson and the heroes of the Napoleonic Wars: Alison Yarrington, History of Art Dept., University of Leicester; should deal not just with painting, but with sculpture as well, naturally including Trafalgar Square and similar ensembles; might also introduce a comparative iconography of Wellington and Napoleon;
3. Napoleon and Wellington are very thinly represented in the paintings collection; but an essay on Popular Prints of the Revolutionary Wars would be interesting;
4. Death and Apotheosis in naval Art: plenty here, such as Drummond's Death of Nelson (BHC0547);

Coherent Series

1. Westall's series on Nelson (e.g. BHC0421, 0498, 2908) might well have antique origins but, in any case, would go well on their own as Heroic Deeds in Frieze Format - i.e. the influence of the antique frieze, which is very popular in sculpture in the 18th/19th centuries;
2. The Greenwich Hospital Collection Paul Spencer-Longhurst, Barber Institute, University of Birmingham (interested in British/French art 1750-1850, and in the history of collecting);
3. Turner's Battle of Trafalgar and its companion-piece PJ de Loutherbourg's Glorious First of June: Professor Luke Herrmann, The Coombs, Clipston near Market Harborough, Northants (professor Emeritus, University of Leicester);
4. The Ingram and Palmer collections might deserve an essay to themselves; Professor Luke Herrmann might be asked if he thinks there is an essay here: he used to work for Bruce Ingram;
5. The War Artists Collection at the NMM: Andrew Causey, Dept. of Art History, University of Manchester;
6. Netherlandish marine art certainly deserves an essay to itself because, as the catalogue, says, it is now better represented at Greenwich than anywhere else in the world;

Architecture and Things Naval

1. The Royal Naval Hospital Greenwich, and the Chelsea Hospital: Christine M. Stevenson, University of reading (interested in hospital architecture); might use Danckerts' view of Greenwich (1818), and Griffier's ditto at 1817 & 1833, plus the anonymous 1834; any discussion of the site should deal with its 'royalty', e.g. by using the anonymous BHC4168, an important document showing Greenwich Palace; ditto the anonymous 1820, which also shows the Tudor palace;
2. Greenwich: the architecture of the town: John Newman, Courtauld Institute (British architecture, 16thc onwards);
3. Jones, Wren, Vanbrugh etc and the architecture of maritime Greenwich: ask jeremy Wood, Jeremy.Wood@nottingham.ac.uk, Lecturer in School of History & Art History;

Maritime Museums in the New Millennium

The problems associated with custodianship of large quantities of works: how are they stored, catalogued, displayed? Why display one rather than another? How can the (lost) context be explicated? Try Christopher Reid, (Portsmouth), interested in Economy & the environment in modern Britain, and maritime history;
1. The Museum is Dead - Long Live the Web?? Or, how and why museums are changing to meet new requirements and expectations. But can the Web replace physical museums? if not, say why not!
2. Is there enough interesting material on how and why certain collections came to the NMM? This, in itself, could be a reflection of the history of taste. One candidate might well be the Greenwich Hospital Collection, donated specifically to laud British naval achievements;

1. great events/wars seen through paintings;
2. the 18thC navy through comical prints: comic prints and comic-strips were very popular in the 18th/19th centuries and, again, would show how the great propaganda pitches (and battles) percolated into comedy for the masses, just as they did into sentimentality and theatre;
3. Naval Ceremonial: such as Willaerts' Embarcation of the Elector Palatine at Dover (BHC0266);
4. The Revolutionary Wars in the NMM's collections: Thomas Munck, University of Glasgow (interested in the French Revolution, and the social history of the Enlightenment);
5. The Siege of Malta in the paintings of Matteo Aleccio: Anthony Luttrell would be one to do it; but I can't find him on the web!
6. use of the sea in exploration and discovery, hence in the increase of knowledge;
7. the various roles of maritime museums?
8. Naval panoramas: - showing the popularity of marine painting and naval exploits. The great 18th and 19th century large-scale panoramas were very popular, and perhaps the popular-cum-theatrical version of the huge canvasses of battle scenes, and also of the great touring paintings, of which Gericault's Raft of the Medusa was the most famous; Richard Altick's The Shows of London (1978) documents the craze;
9. There might be scope for a piece on The Napoleonic Wars and the Theatre - i.e. the popular propagandising of exploits;