William E. deGarthe, Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
Taken during my 5th trip to Nova Scotia, in September of 1980, here's William deGarthe working on a huge granite mural that extends the entire length of an outcrop on his property. Just visible at the top center is the cross on the steeple of St. John's Anglican Church. Complete information on deGarthe and his works can be found here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._deGarthe
When viewing the high resolution photo of the completed mural that's in the Wikipedia article, I noticed that the left end of the completed work did NOT match the same area of my photo, which shows his original marked layout. There are significant differences between my photo and his finished work in the area to the left of St. Elmo. Where today on the finished mural you see a gull about to land on a bollard, and to its left a figure standing at a vessel's spoked wheel, in my photo of his original design you see a two masted schooner sailing left toward a lighthouse on a rock. Above the schooner is a gull flying to the right. Since the mural was nowhere near completion, a great deal of rough layout work is visible throughout. I wouldn't have noticed this if I hadn't been looking on line for some information about the mural. Viewing both at their large size, compare the left end of my image with that of the Wikipedia image. Their differences will be readily apparent.
I phoned the William deGarthe Art Gallery in Peggy's Cove this morning expecting to get a Covid closure recorded message but was surprised when a staff member answered. We had an interesting conversation where I asked about a design change that might possibly have been made before extensive work was done in the area to the left of St. Elmo. I sent a copy of this image to the gallery for their reference, as the differences were a complete surprise to both of us. I asked why the original design might have been modified. Was there any chance that rendering a sailing vessel in stone might have presented problems... details such as lines / rigging being unsuitable for presenting in rough stone? Had he left any notes regarding the work that might include a reference to the design change? It's interesting to imagine what the finished mural would look like (on that end), had work on the original design been carried out to completion.
Concerning his tools used for the project... I remember the rock hammer/drill being heavy and awkward to hold... even with the extra side handle. It was NOISY, and vibrated like crazy... and this was when it wasn't in contact with the rock. I know he wore glasses, a good thing with stone chips and particles flying about, but I cannot remember if he wore any kind of ear protection. His working for so long on this project, using power tools of this nature, could have resulted in some kind of work related disability. I cannot remember the manufacturer of the power hammer he was using that day... wish I could.
Mr deGarthe did not live to see the mural completed, passing away in 1983 with about 80% of the work finished.
The camera I used for this image was my first interchangeable lens SLR... a Nikkormat FT-n fitted with a Nikon 35mm f/2.8 lens.I used it for many years, until the exposure meter failed, then replaced it with a used Nikon F3 HP. I always carried a selection of cameras on my photo trips. There would be one 35mm SLR, one 35mm Stereo camera (3D), and usually one medium format camera... a Pentax 6x7, a Century Graphic (2 1/4 x 3 1/4), or a Mamiya Universal Press. I remember having to provide customs officials with a list of equipment and serial numbers going into Canada, declaring that no equipment was for sale, and do the same returning to the US, assuring customs that none of my gear was purchased in Canada. The only time I ever had a problem at customs was in Calais, Maine where a US agent took exception to my having a plaque-mounted set of deer antlers with me, a gift from the cook at the motel in Parrsboro we stayed at for over 30 years. He wouldn't "confiscate" them, suggesting I drive back to Parrsboro and return them. I said that his suggestion made no sense, then he said to go back over the border and leave them alongside the road somewhere. I might have been a bit rude at that point and he called the senior inspector. Since it was a busy time, my line wasn't moving and folks behind me were becoming "restless", they both said they "hadn't seen anything" and told me to "Get lost".
Peg Cove Mon 9-80-33A
William E. deGarthe, Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
Taken during my 5th trip to Nova Scotia, in September of 1980, here's William deGarthe working on a huge granite mural that extends the entire length of an outcrop on his property. Just visible at the top center is the cross on the steeple of St. John's Anglican Church. Complete information on deGarthe and his works can be found here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._deGarthe
When viewing the high resolution photo of the completed mural that's in the Wikipedia article, I noticed that the left end of the completed work did NOT match the same area of my photo, which shows his original marked layout. There are significant differences between my photo and his finished work in the area to the left of St. Elmo. Where today on the finished mural you see a gull about to land on a bollard, and to its left a figure standing at a vessel's spoked wheel, in my photo of his original design you see a two masted schooner sailing left toward a lighthouse on a rock. Above the schooner is a gull flying to the right. Since the mural was nowhere near completion, a great deal of rough layout work is visible throughout. I wouldn't have noticed this if I hadn't been looking on line for some information about the mural. Viewing both at their large size, compare the left end of my image with that of the Wikipedia image. Their differences will be readily apparent.
I phoned the William deGarthe Art Gallery in Peggy's Cove this morning expecting to get a Covid closure recorded message but was surprised when a staff member answered. We had an interesting conversation where I asked about a design change that might possibly have been made before extensive work was done in the area to the left of St. Elmo. I sent a copy of this image to the gallery for their reference, as the differences were a complete surprise to both of us. I asked why the original design might have been modified. Was there any chance that rendering a sailing vessel in stone might have presented problems... details such as lines / rigging being unsuitable for presenting in rough stone? Had he left any notes regarding the work that might include a reference to the design change? It's interesting to imagine what the finished mural would look like (on that end), had work on the original design been carried out to completion.
Concerning his tools used for the project... I remember the rock hammer/drill being heavy and awkward to hold... even with the extra side handle. It was NOISY, and vibrated like crazy... and this was when it wasn't in contact with the rock. I know he wore glasses, a good thing with stone chips and particles flying about, but I cannot remember if he wore any kind of ear protection. His working for so long on this project, using power tools of this nature, could have resulted in some kind of work related disability. I cannot remember the manufacturer of the power hammer he was using that day... wish I could.
Mr deGarthe did not live to see the mural completed, passing away in 1983 with about 80% of the work finished.
The camera I used for this image was my first interchangeable lens SLR... a Nikkormat FT-n fitted with a Nikon 35mm f/2.8 lens.I used it for many years, until the exposure meter failed, then replaced it with a used Nikon F3 HP. I always carried a selection of cameras on my photo trips. There would be one 35mm SLR, one 35mm Stereo camera (3D), and usually one medium format camera... a Pentax 6x7, a Century Graphic (2 1/4 x 3 1/4), or a Mamiya Universal Press. I remember having to provide customs officials with a list of equipment and serial numbers going into Canada, declaring that no equipment was for sale, and do the same returning to the US, assuring customs that none of my gear was purchased in Canada. The only time I ever had a problem at customs was in Calais, Maine where a US agent took exception to my having a plaque-mounted set of deer antlers with me, a gift from the cook at the motel in Parrsboro we stayed at for over 30 years. He wouldn't "confiscate" them, suggesting I drive back to Parrsboro and return them. I said that his suggestion made no sense, then he said to go back over the border and leave them alongside the road somewhere. I might have been a bit rude at that point and he called the senior inspector. Since it was a busy time, my line wasn't moving and folks behind me were becoming "restless", they both said they "hadn't seen anything" and told me to "Get lost".
Peg Cove Mon 9-80-33A