In its bargain with the sea Gloucester, Massachusetts accepted devastating losses of men and ships in exchange for prosperity as America's leading fishing port in the late 19th century. An unexpected bonus of the bargain came when the Cape Ann of schooner fishermen was celebrated in words and art by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry David Thoreau, Winslow Homer, Rudyard Kipling, T.S. Eliot, Edward Hopper, John Sloan and other leading figures in 19th and 20th century arts and letters. The fisheries are in decline, but the heritage of maritime endeavor and artistic creativity endures.