Click here to view larger view of painting: Large DeGrailly. TIDES INSTITUTE TO ACQUIRE KEY DEGRAILLY PAINTING OF PASSAMAQUODDY BAY September 12, 2002: THE TIDES INSTITUTE announces that it has entered into an agreement to purchase an oil painting by Victor DeGrailly (1804-1889) entitled "View of Passamaquoddy Bay" that dates from the 1840s. The Institute made the announcement during a community dinner with the directors of the Maine Community Foundation held at Eastport on Thursday evening, September 12th. A French painter, DeGrailly was a commercial artist who, among other works, created a series of paintings based on engravings found in the book American Scenery first published in 1840. These engravings were, in turn, based on drawings by William H. Bartlett. One of the engravings is entitled "East Port and Passamaquoddy" that portrays a romanticized view of Passamaquoddy Bay looking northward from Lubec. DeGrailly was enough a sales person to know that if one of his paintings sold, he might also sell another virtually identical painting of the same American scene. This is just what he did with several of his paintings based on the Bartlett engravings, including "East Port and Passamaquoddy." At least three other versions of DeGrailly's "Eastport and Passamaquoddy" are known to exist. In the early 1970s, the White House purchased a version and it hung in the Oval Office during the administration of President Nixon and again during the administration of President Reagan. The Portland Museum of Art and the Farnsworth Musuem of Art in Rockland also own DeGrailly versions. Now, Passamaquoddy Bay, will have its own version. According to the Institute's director, Hugh French, "This is the single most important painting relating to the Passamaquoddy Bay area. Not only because of its artistic and historical significance, but also because it attempts to capture the whole of the Bay and is based on the most widely recognized image of the Bay - Bartlett's engraving, 'East Port and Passamaquoddy'. The fact that DeGrailly painted more than one version doesn't diminish its significance." The acquisition of the DeGrailly painting represents a key element in the Institute's efforts to develop a first rate, comprehensive collection of art from the Passamaquoddy Bay area from the nineteenth century to the present. The Tides Institute has launched a special fundraising initiative to pay for the painting and plans to make it an area wide effort, including schoolchildren. The Institute has until the end of the year to raise the necessary funds. The painting will be on display at the Tides Institute building this weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 in the afternoon. It will be displayed at other times and locations yet to be determined through the rest of the year. Individuals wishing to contribute to the fund to cover the cost of the painting can contact the Tides Institute at P.O. Box 161, Eastport, Maine 04631. Or by telephone (207) 853-4047 or email: tides@tidesinstitute.org. The names of contributors will be displayed in a framed plaque near the painting in the Institute building.