City Donates Art Collection to Home From the Sea Campaign
The City of St. John’s donated 38 paintings by artist George Noseworthy to the Home From the Sea Sealers Memorial in Elliston on Friday, March 8 in a ceremony at Government House.
“We are very pleased to make this donation to the Home From the Sea campaign,” says Councillor at Large Tom Hann. “These paintings were painted aboard a sealing vessel and provide a unique artistic look into the sealing industry and its people. I can think of no better place for these paintings than the Home From the Sea Sealers Memorial in Elliston and we are very pleased we have been able to donate them to this organization.”
Artist George Noseworthy completed the works while aboard the 253-foot “Chesley A. Crosbie” sealing vessel in 1970. The paintings were donated to the City by the Crosbie family during a call for public art when City Hall was first opened. The paintings are currently on loan to Government House.
On hand for the presentation of the paintings was His Honour, the Honourable John C. Crosbie, PC, OC, ONL, QC, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, who is also the Patron of the Sealers Memorial Campaign; Councillor Hann representing the City of St. John’s; and Chris Collingwood, Campaign Co- Chair, representing the Home From the Sea Sealers Memorial.
“This collection holds an exceptional place in my heart given the connection to my family and my continued support of the sealing industry and the Home from the Sea project,” said His Honour Mr. Crosbie. “Having the collection here at Government House during my term as Lieutenant Governor has been special and I am delighted to know it will have a new home at the Sealers Memorial in Elliston.”
The Home From the Sea Campaign is dedicated to raising funds to build a Sealers Memorial and educational Interpretation Centre in Elliston, Trinity Bay. Once completed, this project will acknowledge and commemorate victims of the 1914 sealing disaster, as well as the seal fishery’s contribution to the economy and social fabric of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“This contribution of artwork will continue the City of St. John’s long-standing relationship with the seal fishery and further help the campaign acknowledge an industry that contributed so much to the culture and history of our home,” says Chris Collingwood, Campaign Co-Chair, of the generosity of the City’s support.
He added that with such a critical mass of the renowned artist’s work in one space, the Sealers Memorial Interpretation Center will become another cultural hub in the Trinity and Bonavista area and an ongoing draw for visitors.
For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communications Officer
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell: (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca
Tom Hann
Councillor at Large
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 576-8219
E-mail: thann@stjohns.ca
Michelle Cannizzaro
Home From the Sea
Phone: (709) 753-0794 ext. 29
E-mail: mcannizzaro@homefromthesea.ca