TidesNet—Online Collections Entry Detail

DescriptionAn 1869 watercolor (9.5 inches by 11.5 inches) by New Brunswick artist, Charles Caleb Ward of Passamaquoddy youths gathering gull eggs on the cliffs of nearby Grand Manan island in New Brunswick. Historically, for the Passamaquoddies, Maine’s current political boundary line was non-existent and Passamaquoddies homeland and territory extended to both sides of the border. In the nineteenth century and long before, they were frequently on Grand Manan for fishing and sealing, to collect gull eggs found on the steep island cliffs and for other activities. In 2004, the Tides Institute learned of the existence of this painting from a tip from Donald Soctomah, long time Passamaquoddy tribal historic preservation officer. The watercolor was coming up for auction at Heritage Auction in Dallas, Texas and the Tides Institute was able to mount the successful bid after raising the necessary funds to cover the bid. It is one of two paintings by Ward in the Institute’s collections. The other is an oil painting portraying a Passamaquoddy hunter in the woods of Charlotte County, New Brunswick. Charles Caleb Ward did many paintings of the Passamaquoddies during this time while living and working in St. George, New Brunswick. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1831. Later he spent time in Liverpool, England to learn about the shipping business, but also learned figure painting with the English artist, William Henry Hunt. Ward also lived in New York City for awhile where he studied landscape painting with artist, Asher B. Durand, and maintained a studio in the city. He died in 1896. Artist: Charles Caleb Ward Medium: Watercolor Classification: Watercolors Circa: 1869 Old Accession Number: 169 Purchased in 2004 from Heritage Gallery and Auctioneers. Grand Manan, New Brunswick.