Barbour’s Seabird Leaving Newtown (Bonavista Bay), 2003

Abozzo Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto Heffel, auction, Toronto, 20 November 2019, lot 4 Private Collection, Toronto

Essential to David Blackwood’s practice is the indelible imprint of human history and narrative on the landscape of Newfoundland. The artist's sharp focus on Newfoundland's Pre-Confederate history and culture, positions his body of work in a unique space within the Canadian art historical dialogue. Often looking back to his childhood growing up in the small but bustling harbour town of Wesleyville, Blackwood couples his experiences with longstanding community histories, myths and stories to capture the quintessential Newfoundland way of life in an era of independence, self-reliance and resilience. In this painting, Blackwood has depicted Neptune II, a three-masted schooner built in 1920 and owned by Captain Job Kean Barbour, a merchant from Newtown. The Barbours were considered one of the most important seafaring families. Fourteen of the descendants of Benjamin Barbour became captains and ten of those were sealing captains. The family also established and maintained a business in Newtown until the early 1990s. As a result, the Barbour Family was vital to the economic well-being of the community. Neptune II is painted in full sail, a striking portrait of a strong and resilient craft, “Barbour’s Seabird”. The rich red of the sails is as a result of soaking the material in a preservative made by boiling the bark of conifer. This artwork invokes a sense of the sublime with the swirling clouds of the sky surrounding the schooner, which is depicted from an intimate vantage point, the boat and striking red sails completely filling the composition. The iceberg in the distance acts as a metaphor for the resiliency of seafaring Newfoundlanders against the power of nature. The Neptune II was featured in another of Blackwood’s works, a 1979 etching of Captain Job Kean Barbour, which includes an image of the schooner. In 1935, the Neptune II was caught in a severe storm and was blown off course. Sadly, the vessel was abandoned in the North Atlantic Ocean. Blackwood’s painting stands as a testament to the schooner, the Barbour Family and the rugged way of life of Newfoundlanders.