Evangeline Well, Grand-Pré

 

"Evangeline Well, Grand-Pré (Puits Évangéline, Grand-Pré),

14 x 11", acrylic on mounted aluminium panel, 2021

painting #281

Last summer I was invited to take part in an up-coming 2021 exhibition at the West Baton Rouge Museum in Louisiana that pays an homage to Evangeline, the legendary Acadian literary heroine from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem of the same name,  The timing was perfect as we were leaving the following week for a Nova Scotia getaway as the NB-NS border had reopened earlier during the summer for tourists of the Atlantic, Canada bubble during the pandemic. We made our way to Grand-Pré, located in the bucolic region of Annapolis Valley. The historic site and grounds were open to the public. However, the statue of Evangeline by sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert had a barricade behind it during our visit and was going to be removed the following day for restauration. A small ceremony was held during the month of July 2020 to commemorate the statue's 100 anniversary. The commemorative church had scaffolding around its perimeter and was also undergoing restaurative work. The church which was built in 1922 will also be turning 100. It was reopened to the public by this summer. 

  

My wife Suzanne with the Evangeline statue and commemorative church. 

-photo taken during a previous visit, September, 2018.

Self, September, 2020

I first read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem Evangeline in 2017. Longfellow's tale written in 1874 would become a lasting legacy and a gift to the Acadian people. It would forever give them a sense of identity and help define the plight of the Acadians to the rest of the world.

While Evangeline is a fictitious character possibly based on a real person. She is perceived as an iconic and allegorical figure to the Acadians for her qualities of steadfastness, fortitude, strength, devotion and love.

During the deportation of Acadians in 1755, my 6th time grand-father, Michel Richard was deported from Fort Beauséjour to Charleston, SC where he died shortly thereafter. Avoiding the deportation, his wife and children had exiled themselves to Prince Edward Island as tension was mounting with the British. To pay homage to my ancestors and the author, I returned on the grounds of Fort Beauséjour, located in Aulac, NB and used it as the setting for the first two paintings done in 2017 & 2019. In the poem, Longfellow writes,

 Shaking his head, as in doubt; then, heaving a sigh, he continued:- "Louisbourg is not forgotten nor Beauséjour, nor Port Royal".

This painting is my third study using the same props. I wanted to create a full-circle moment by returning Evangeline to her homeland of Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia. The Evangeline Well was discovered by treasure hunters at the end of the 19th century.  It is located directly to the right of the commemorative church in Grand-Pré. My previous two paintings had ginger-ale inside the bottle. For this rendition, I decided to leave the bottle empty, as if returning to the well to fill it with water and as a means of symbolism and for what Grand-Pré and Évangéline represents to the Acadians which for many, also serves as a pilgrimage site. A bust of Longfellow is located about 50 meters from the well. The Grand-Pré historic site was established in 1908 and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. 

The exhibition "Evangeline, Evolution of an Icon", organized by the West Baton Rouge Museum, provides a glimpse into Evangeline’s evolving status from her inception through today as a legend and heroine, to a brand image and celebrity, and ultimately into a cultural icon. Inspiring writers, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs, Evangeline has appeared in many guises. Along the way, her image morphed from that of a demure Victorian-era maiden into a confident modern woman. This exhibition includes artworks by Canadian and Louisiana artists, including François Gaudet, Rémi Belliveau, Mario Doucette, Alvin Richard, Melissa Bonin, and George Rodrigue among several others as well as artifacts and paraphernalia to demonstrate Evangeline’s transformation and her timeless appeal. The exhibit opens Saturday, May 15 and runs through October 31st. 

photos provided by Lauren Hawthorne, curator of collection

The West Baton Rouge Museum is located at 845 N Jefferson Ave, Port Allen, Louisiana,United States. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday- 10 am to 4:30pm and Sunday 2pm-5pm

https://westbatonrougemuseum.org/314/Current-Exhibits

Suggested reading with beautifully mounted video done by the CBC for the 100th anniversary of the Evangeline statue also featuring François Gaudet, one of the artists taking part in the exhibition which I had a good fortune of meeting during our visit in Grand-Pré- click on this LINK to view.

This photo is of my mother Emma dressed up in an

Évangéline costume, circa 1955.

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UPDATE - Sept. 30, 2021 

With the cooperation of the West Baton Rouge Museum, the original painting was removed from the exhibition on Sept. 15 and replaced with a reproduction canvas print with hand painted details for the remaining of the exhibition.  

The original painting will be part of an small solo show entitled "Art-ifacts", hosted by the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB from October 14 to November 5, 2021. 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD

Évangéline

14 x 12'', acrylic on mounted gessoed aluminium panel

painting #273, 2019

Since 1994, le Congrès mondial acadien (World Acadian Congress) has been held every five years. This summer, southeast New Brunswick and several municipalities on Prince Edward Island hosted the event from August 10 to 24. National Acadian Day is held annually on August 15. This year, I attended the festivities with my wife in Dieppe, N.B. Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau along several dignitaries kicked off the Grand Tintamarre that was followed by a free show/concert featuring a who's who of Acadian singers that was attended by 20,000 people. 

The whole event inspired me to undertake a sister painting for ''Evangeline, an homage to Longfellow" that was completed in 2017.  Please click on this LINK for the backstory behind both paintings. The photo study for Évangéline was done during the same session at Fort Beauséjour, NB in late August of 2017. For the first study, the viewer is looking west in the direction of Grand-Pré, NS. For this latest painting, the viewer is looking south, towards the Missaguash River located on the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border. Fort Lawrence which was occupied by British troops once stood on the other side of the river from Fort Beauséjour at the time of the deportation of Acadians in 1755. 

This painting was submitted to the Annual Juried Exhibition held at the Moncton Gallery. The show runs from September 9 until the end of October.

Moncton Gallery is located at City Hall, 655 Main St., Moncton, NB
Hours: Monday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

During the jury process, the City of Moncton decided to acquire the painting for their permanent art collection. For this, I am forever grateful to live in such a vibrant and inclusive city.

-Collection - City of Moncton

Evangeline, an homage to Longfellow

16 x 12'', acrylic on gessoed aluminum panel

painting #254, 2017 

Evangeline is an epic poem written by American poet and educator Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was published in 1847, 170 years ago. Longfellow was born in 1807 in Portland Maine. His best works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. I've had the chance to visit his childhood home twice. The Longfellow house was built in 1785-86 by the poet's grandfather, General Peleg Wadsworth. It is one of the oldest brick structures on Portland's peninsula.

The deportation of Acadian people from their lands by British troops (1755-1764) becomes the backdrop for the poem. Recounting the tragic tale of a young Acadian woman named Evangeline Bellefontaine who was separated from her fiancé Gabriel Lajeunesse on the eve of their wedding during the great upheaval in 1755 in Grand-Pré, Acadia (now Nova Scotia). The prose follows Evangeline on her long and arduous journey across the eastern seaboard of the United States as she spends all of her adult life in search of her long lost love. Now an old woman working as a Sister of Mercy among the poor in Philadelphia, at long last she finds Gabriel among the sick while caring for the dying during an epidemic, only for him to die in her arms. Even though Evangeline is fictitious character, she is perceived as a heroine and icon for the Acadian people and has become a symbol for faithfulness, courage, hope, perseverance and love.

 The eloquence in Longfellow's writing is evident from the first paragraph:

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of old, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.

Instead of reading the book before starting the painting as I've done before, I read it only once the painting was completed. Being myself an Acadian, it is a painting that carries a bit more weight within the narrative of the imagery. 

I found a vintage Evangeline soda pop bottle in an estate sale last summer in Summerside, PEI. I can't recall ever seeing this brand. After doing a bit of research, it would have originally contained Ginger-Ale and was bottled by Seven-Up Ltd in Halifax, NS. The book used for my composition was acquired on eBay from a seller in Newfoundland. It was published by Airmont Books in 1965 and sold for 75 cents.

Antique Evangeline crate. 

Two months before spending our 2012 Christmas vacation in Louisiana, I found my genealogy on-line dating back to 1630. My French ancestor and 8th times grandfather, Michel "Sansoucy" Richard was born in Saintonge France and immigrated to Port Royal, Acadia (now Nova Scotia) in 1652. During the deportation of Acadians, his grandson and my 6th time grand-father, Michel Richard was deported from Fort Beauséjour to Charleston, SC where he died shorty thereafter. Avoiding the deportation, his wife and children had exiled themselves on Prince Edward Island when tensions were mounting during this period of great uncertainly. To pay homage to my ancestors, I returned on the grounds of Fort Beauséjour, located in Aulac, NB and used it as the setting in the composition. With views of the Tantramar Marsh, the waterways opens up into the Bay of Fundy. From here, you can make your way by boat to Grand-Pré. In the poem, Longfellow writes, Shaking his head, as in doubt; then, heaving a sigh, he continued:- "Louisbourg is not forgotten nor Beauséjour, nor Port Royal".

While in Louisiana, we visited the Acadian / Cajun region of St James Parish, Broussard, Beaux Bridges, St. Martinville and the city of Lafayette. St Martinville is widely considered to be the birthplace of the Cajun culture and traditions, and it is in the heart of Cajun Country. Between the dates of 1764 and 1785, upwards of 2600 Acadians took exile in Louisiana, then under Spanish rule, but previously owned by the French.

  My wife Suzanne with the statue of Evangeline, St. Martinville, LA

In 2013, the Charlottetown Festival produced "Evangeline" a musical that ran during the summer at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. We were fortunate to attend a presentation. "Epic, ambitious, Canadian...comparable to Les Misérables" wrote The Globe and Mail. It was reprised in 2015 for a one month run at the Homburg Theatre in Charlottetown. 

In 2005, I was among a very fortunate small group of four in the entourage of one of the judges during the Moncton stop of the auditions for the very popular TVA reality-TV singing competition, Star Académie". A then unknown singer, Annie Blanchard from Maisonnette, NB auditioned to Michel Conte's ''Évangéline'', and instantly won the heart of the judges and the public. This link is not the audition taping but a similar version with piano accompaniment, click HERE to listen. At the conclusion of the show, Évangéline was release as a single on the compilation album. It would climb all the way to #1 on the Quebec charts. Annie Blanchard would go on to win the Félix for the song of the year at the 2006 Gala de l'ADISQ (highest musical distinction in the province of Quebec).

Part of my two-person show with Yvon Gallant entitled ''HARVEST'' at the Fog Forest Gallery from October 12 - November 8, 2017.

Opening reception - Thursday October 12, 6:30- 8:00 pm

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street

Sackville, NB, Canada

(506) 536-9000

website- http:/fogforestgallery.ca

-SOLD