As with much of David Blackwood’s work, For David Judah: Home from Bragg’s Island speaks intimately to the lives and stories of Bonavista Bay. The five figures returning to Wesleyville at night are the artist and his family, with Blackwood depicting himself as a child at the bow. They are arriving home safely from a visit with Blackwood’s grandparents on Bragg’s Island, which lies nearly 30 kilometers to the southwest by boat.

This composition is also featured within the epic work, Home from Bragg’s Island, 2009, the largest painting Blackwood ever produced, which hangs in the permanent collection of The Rooms in St. John’s. The bold red door in the foreground, a central Blackwood motif, is the door to the shed of Ephraim Kelloway, the artist’s childhood neighbour. “Uncle Eph” painted and repainted this door again and again, nailing to it horseshoes, model ships, and tin lettering. It fascinated Blackwood as a child, and he revisited it in paint and print for over 40 years.

Please note: this work is unframed.