Simatos’ work is a time capsule of celebrities, royalty, and the haute bourgeoisie of an era spanning from the 1920s to the 1970s. But the big surprise is that he was also an itinerant trans-Caribbean painter who met many of his sitters on a luxury cruise ship line as staff artist. That makes him the first artist to capture a unique market: the rich and famous traveling aboard luxury cruise ships during an era when the cruising industry was far different than it is today.