“The Hall of History – Bermuda’s own “Sistine Chapel”
‘The Hall of History’ is a larger than life mural by Bermudian artist, Graham Foster, to be found in The Commissioner”s House at the National Museum of Bermuda in Dockyard.
The two story, 1000 square foot interior mural depicts five centuries of Bermudian history, and took approximately 7,000 hours -over three years – to complete.”
—-BSOA.BM
On my recent trip to Bermuda, as can be imagined I saw many wonderful sights and sounds and toured many impressive places. One of the most striking is the Commissioner’s House, which offered some of the most beautiful views of the Island of Bermuda and the surrounding seas.
And not to be undone the interior of the Commissioner’s house held many Marvels both historic and cultural. Weapons of War and documents of peace, tales of soldiers who gave their last best measure, stories of slavery endured and triumphed over, and rooms lovingly adorned with books and art, going back to the early days of the seafaring age.
And of the many Marvels to be seen in the Commissioner’s House one of the many impressive ones, is also one of the newest. A relatively recently commissioned mural, only 6 years of age as of this writing, that spans two stories and a thousand square feet, and five hundred years of Bermudian History. By local Artist Graham Foster his BERMUDA’S STORY IN ART is nothing short of a stellar marvel, that is to be ogled and awed at in person.
Walking up and down the two flights I loved it, and also knew I had not the time to truly grasp a fraction of the detail that Foster put into the work. It was too big, too immense, too esoteric in parts, it was the history of a nation distilled in paint and sweat and time.
Coming back from Bermuda, one of my great regrets was not picking up the art book, that was produced in 2011 (2 years after the murals opening) by the National Museum of Bermuda to give detail into Foster’s staggering work. Long unavailable, thankfully a few copies have become available on Amazon. I recently got one of them, and my verdict, on the massive 14″ by 14″, 200+ page book, written and annotated by Bermuda scholar Rosemary Jones in collaboration with artist Graham Foster is… it is a masterpiece. A work of art in its own right, to properly convey… the work of art of Foster’s Mural.
A fantastic addition to anyone’s library, whether a traveler, a bibliophile, or an art lover. Highest recommendation. Pick up your copy (if you are lucky) at the link below!
Hall of History Bermuda’s Story in Art
“Hall of History Mural Bermuda
If you love wall murals, this is the one you mustn’t miss in Bermuda. Hall of History is a 1000 square feet larger than life mural created by the Bermudian artist Graham Foster. You will find it in the Commissioner’s House located at the National Museum of Bermuda in Royal Naval Dockyard.
Graham started the work in 2005 and it took him 7,000 hours of research and painting to complete this mural over more than 3 years time. On November 2009, it was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen. At the time of opening, Graham had presented a painting “The Wreck of the Sea Venture” to the Queen. The mural depicts over 400 years of life in Bermuda and you will be able to see virtually everything that made a mark in the island over the past centuries.
Graham Foster’s Mural “Hall of History” is now captured in a 14″ x 14″ Coffee table book. It depicts the deep history and heritage of his murals with many high quality pictures of the mural. The text of the book has been written by Rosemary Jones. In case you are not able to spend enough time at the Commissioners House to absorb all the details of the mural personally, this hefty book can be a great possession to explore those details. It’s currently retailing for $65 and is available at the bookstores island wide.”
—http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002c4.htm
“Graham Foster is a Bermudian artist best known for his larger-than-life mural, ‘The Hall of History’ at the Bermuda Maritime Museum in Dockyard. The two storey, 1000 square foot interior mural depicts five centuries of Bermudian history, and took approximately 7000 hours [over three years] to complete.
Born in 1970, he is the son of physician Elizabeth Foster and Alec Foster. A professional artist since 1995, Mr. Foster was educated at The Bermuda College and The Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston.
His paintings tend to follow one of two directions – one inspired by Bermuda’s fish,flora,fauna, and people, captured in a characteristically surreal style,the other is looser and more expressionistic,often inspired by dreams and the subconscious.
He is a sculptor [primarily in welded steel] as well as a painter. In 2002, he became the first Bermudian artist to have a work purchased for the permanent collection of The Bermuda National Gallery, a welded steel triptych entitled ’21st Century Fetish Family’. Many of his sculptures are strongly influenced by Tribal Art.”
—http://bernews.com/bermuda-profiles/graham-foster/
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