Decades-old mystery in N.B. basement sparks quest to find artist
CBC
For 15 years, a mystery has quietly lurked in the basement of an east Saint John home.
It's an intriguing puzzle: a hand painted, folk-art mural depicting a well-known west-side Saint John neighbourhood.
Its cheery tone is reminiscent of the works of Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis, its colours and whimsy evocative of British naive artist Gary Bunt.
And its sheer size — the mural measures more than one metre by one metre — makes it clear this artwork was a labour of love.
But by whom?
Jen Parker, whose mom owns the home that houses the mural, is obsessed with finding the answer to that question.
Parker has always known about the mural. But for years, it was partially hidden by boxes and other items, just another wall in a basement storage room.
Then her mom began readying the basement for a renovation, and that's when Parker got a full glimpse of the hidden treasure.
"I was intrigued by it," she said. "It's very cool."
She realized she was looking at a landmark west-wide intersection: Simms Corner. But Simms Corner as it used to be.
The painting depicts the red Centracare psychiatric hospital buildings, now gone. The sprawling white Simms paintbrush factory, now gone. A Stop sign, urging the mural's curiously driverless cars to hit the brakes, also now gone.
But why paint an iconic west-side landmark in an east-side home?
Perhaps, Parker thought, that was a clue.
Just after Christmas, she turned to social media sleuths for help, posting a photo of the unsigned mural and asking if anyone knew who'd painted it.
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