New Bedford Montage Mural, 15′ x 6′, 1996
V.A. Primary Care Center, New Bedford, Massachusetts
by Bonnie Lee Turner and Charles C. Clear III
In 1996, the Veterans Administration commissioned my partner Charles and I to paint a Mural in the waiting room of the V.A. Primary Care Center in New Bedford, Massachusetts. After carefully considering our client’s vision and objectives, we painted ‘Home Of The Brave’, a 15′ x 6′ Mural featuring a montage of New Bedford scenes. It was a fun project! We learned about the history of the City, took pictures, then painted the Mural after hours. Back then, there were no digital cameras, no websites….I’m not even sure we had a computer yet! Because we never had a decent picture of this early Mural, this Mural got a little lost in the brush strokes of time.
In 2014, we received a call from an engineer at the V.A. He told us that the Primary Care Center in New Bedford was being completely remodeled, and the wall with our Mural had to be torn down. There was no way to save the artwork. However, the staff and patients at the V.A. cherished the Mural so much, that he asked our permission to reproduce the Mural on vinyl. We agreed. The Veterans Administration then brought in a photographer from New Hampshire to take high-resolution pictures of the Mural, in order to have the highest quality work reprinted on vinyl.
Shortly thereafter, we visited the V.A. in New Bedford to meet with the engineer, and see the Mural one last time before it is destroyed. Eighteen years had passed, but the mural looked as fresh as the day it was painted. While it’s not as polished as our current work, it’s still a good solid Mural, and we’re happy that we got to see it one last time.
To commission a Montage Mural for your building, contact me!
Bonnie Lee Turner
bt@bonnieleeturner.com