 | ||||
| The Ipswich Mermaid, George Courage, Acrylic on canvas 8"x10". |
My husband George Courage painted this mermaid portrait.
The image of a mermaid in a wheelchair is one that's been with him since he was young, growing up in Ipswich, MA. When he was in high school, the drama club produced the play Miranda by Peter Blackmore. (Miranda was made into a film in 1948 starring Glynnis Johns, one of my favorite mermaid films.) The titular mermaid was transported in a wheelchair for the better part of the play and inspired the image. Although the play was set in the 1940's, George loved the idea of a mermaid wearing a Victorian-style dress, and that's how he sketched her as a college student.
This recent version also features a lighthouse in the background. The model for this lighthouse once stood on Crane's Beach in Ipswich. It was moved to Cape Cod in the 1930's and though George never saw it in person, he grew up going to Crane's and heard stories about the lighthouse that used to reside there.
"The Ipswich Mermaid" is currently on display in Salem, MA (along with several other illustration works by George) at the Salem Theatre at 90 Lafayette Street. His work will be on display through December 2014.
hello!
ReplyDeleteyour picture made me think a novel by H.G. Wells: The Sea Lady ( 1902) which tells the story of a mermaid who introduced herself in the life of a british family, in order to seduce the future husband of the oldest daughter. The story is both very funny (so critic with the british victorian society) and very sad; the mermaid goes everywhere in a wheelchair and says to the narrator "there are better dreams" (or something like that, i read it in french ^^;;)
I just found this delightful picture while searching for details on 'Ipswich Mermaid.' However, I am from the UK and originally a resident of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Whilst there is a modern pub in Ipswich called the Mermaid, a much earlier one was situated at 17, Fore Street, Ipswich, near to the Docks. It was built at the end of the 18th century, and is a Grade 2 listed building. Having ceased being a public house sometime ago, it has since been used for accommodation and a shop. It has a beautifully carved wooden plaque of a mermaid with comb and glass, plus the legend 'Meremayd' - an old spelling. We have several mermaid stories around the East Anglian region, including inland freshwater creatures known as nicor. A friend of mine, Val Thomas edits the 'Mermazine' from Norwich, Norfolk, dealing with Merfolk of East Anglia. www.mermazine.net
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, many early English settlers sailed from Ipswich, Suffolk, England, or nearby. (Godspeed, + Mayflower etc.)