50. 'Blessed are the Peacemakers' prints on sale, in three sizes

Orders and further information to: jccw1945@gmail.com

Prints of the painting of a famous scene from American history which features a courageous Devonian pioneer are now on sale. It is hoped that the painting itself will go on permanent display in East Budleigh, the village where Roger Conant was born just over four centuries ago.

Budleigh Salterton artist John Washington tackled the project as part of the celebrations being prepared by a group of local residents as a tribute to Conant, who founded the city of Salem in Massachusetts.

‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’ depicts what has been described as Conant’s ‘wise diplomacy’ in averting bloodshed during an encounter in 1625 between two contending factions at Cape Ann, near what is now the American city of Gloucester.  One of the factions was led by the famously pugnacious Myles Standish, seen right in the painting. He was the military adviser to the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed to America five years earlier in the Mayflower.

The painting has been commended by experts from both sides of the Atlantic. Gloucester historian Mary Ellen Lepionka who has written about the famous scene offered her congratulations to the artist.

Art expert Mike Hope praised the work’s message of peace and reconciliation as well as its style. ‘The eye for detail and historical accuracy cannot be faulted,’ he noted. ‘The picture would I think act as a good focal point during the forthcoming four hundredth year celebrations.’

Among the pioneers of early America Roger Conant has been celebrated by historians for his meticulous honesty, his attitude of tolerance and conciliation, and what has been described as his character of strict integrity and devotion to principle. 

Profits from sales of the prints are being generously donated to fund other Conant 400 projects such as a commemorative blue plaque in East Budleigh.

 

The brass plate which will accompany the painting when it is finally on display

36. Painting Budleigh history: East Budleigh’s Roger Conant the Peacemaker

A work in progress - Roger Conant the Peacemaker: How John Washington's painting of the 1625 scene at Fishermen's Field, Cape Ann, was looking by 3 September

Local history is often better told in pictures than in words. A visual impact is more engaging, and artistic licence means that a controversial slant can be introduced – which is always good for enjoyable and balanced discussion.

There are very few paintings inspired by Budleigh’s history, and yet our area is crowded with fascinating events and people who would make good subjects.  Sir John Everett Millais’ 1870 painting ‘The Boyhood of Raleigh’ was surely the first and the best known.

Then a century or so later we have Peter Goodhall’s 1983 depiction of smuggler Jack Rattenbury’s escape from the excise officer Captain Stocker – now in Fairlynch Museum. That painting was followed by the more recent one of the German Heinkel bomber strafing Budleigh High Street during WW2

And now local artist John Washington is working on a painting based on events even further back in history, but relevant to this year’s 400^th anniversary of the arrival of the Plymouth Pilgrims in America, and the Mayflower 400 celebrations.

Dedication of the Tablet Rock plaque in 1907 at Fisherman’s Field, with, below the inscription: ‘Here in 1625 Gov. Roger Conant by wise diplomacy averted bloodshed between contending factions one led by Myles Standish of Plymouth the other by Capt Hewes. A notable example of arbitration in the beginnings of New England. Placed by the Citizens of Gloucester 1907’. Photo credit: Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester MA, and  Mary Ellen Lepionka

His subject is the peace-making role of East Budleigh-born Roger Conant in the 1625 confrontation between West Country fishermen and the Plymouth Pilgrims’ military adviser Captain Miles Standish. The event took place in Fishermen’s Field at Cape Ann, near the present-day city of Gloucester in Massachusetts.

Since the first sketches back in May this year good progress has been made. Originally, the concept was a simple representation of Roger Conant himself, but over time John has found himself excited by the historical background and by the interaction between the characters of the 1625 story.

Giving the central figure a sufficiently authoritative but friendly pose faced with the notoriously fiery Miles Standish - known by his enemies as Captain Shrimp because of his small stature – has been a challenge. ‘The content of the painting has developed significantly from what I initially thought would be a quite straightforward portrait, he says.

Budleigh artist John Washington at work 

Accuracy of historical detail has been to the forefront of John’s thinking and he is pleased with the reception that the painting has had from experts in the USA, notably from Gloucester historian Mary Ellen Lepionka who has offered her congratulations on the depiction of the stand-off on Fishermen’s Field – ‘nice job’ was her comment.   

Recently, John has worked mostly on the background - the sky, the sea, the grass and rocky path. Conant’s clothes have also received more attention. ‘I shall be working my way through the various images in the same way over the next few weeks,’ he says. ‘The fishermen are looking a bit light in colour but as I overpaint them, they’ll tone down and the painting will gel much better.’

You can access other posts on this blog by going to the Blog Archive (under the ‘About Me’ section), and clicking on the appropriate heading.

34. Conant at Cape Ann: a painting’s progress online

I’m not the only blogger in Budleigh Salterton!

And not the only one blogging about Roger Conant.

Local artist John Washington, Chair of our town’s Art Club, has thrown himself enthusiastically into the project of an exciting ‘history painting’.

Two years ago, John organized a successful re-enactment of the scene in 1870 when the celebrated Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir John Everett Millais stayed in Budleigh Salterton and started work on his masterpiece ‘The Boyhood of Raleigh’.

Set on our pebble beach, the painting shows an imagined scene where young Walter Raleigh and his half-brother Humphrey Gilbert are inspired by the stories of travel and adventure told to them by a local sailor. John, in costume as Millais, is pictured above.

John’s current work focuses on the famous 1625 incident at Fishermen’s Field on Cape Ann, near Gloucester MA, when Roger Conant is recorded as having averted a bloody confrontation between two groups of settlers.

‘A degree of artistic license will be required but I still intend to include as much historical accuracy as possible,’ says John.

You can follow John’s progress on the project at  https://www.johnwashingtonartist.com/blog.html

You can access other posts on this blog by going to the Blog Archive (under the ‘About Me’ section), and clicking on the appropriate heading.