Afternoon at Woolastook

Acquired directly from the Artist Private Collection, Fredericton

Michelle Gewurtz, "Molly Lamb Bobak: Life & Work" [online publication], Art Canada Institute, Toronto, 2018, pages 64, 97

The subject matter of much of Molly Lamb Bobak’s work aligns with the ideas of the French poet and critic, Charles Baudelaire, “who, in 1863, argued that modernity, in contrast to classical ideals, required an artist to be a “man of the world, man of the crowd”. As a painter of modern life, Molly encapsulates the goal Baudelaire had for artists in pursing and capturing modernity. Bobak has depicted the jubilation and communal excitement of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Fredericton, New Brunswick on July 15th, 1976, in Afternoon at Woolastook. Following the official welcome at the Legislative Assembly Building and a brief stop at City Hall, The Queen and Prince Philip travelled to Woolastook Provincial Park. Here they toured the Boy Scout Jamboree campsite, picnicked with an estimated 3,500 schoolchildren, and viewed a cultural panorama that included performances by "Les jeunes chanteurs d’Acadie" and the Kiwanis Steel Band. A tour of Kings Landing Historical Settlement, a provincial dinner, and fireworks rounded out the first day’s activities. As Bobak recalls, “I’ve never been so excited as on that day. I think the whole of Fredericton felt that way. I was really excited by the crowd and the joy in the town, the flags. I was laughing, I was crying…at the sheer pleasure everyone was having – the dancers, the pipers, everyone that was there…every place I looked there was a subject for me…to paint.”