Moose Jaw’s ‘Lost Murals’ Restored
Moose Javians are finally able to see some of their old favorite murals come back to life as Murals of Moose Jaw officially unveiled the “Lost Murals.”
The Lost Murals: Remember Old 80; River Street Red; Summer games; Incorporation of the City of Moose Jaw; Moose Jaw Union Hospital and Our Ukrainian Heritage, were unveiled in a dedication ceremony at McKarr’s Furniture and Mattress Shop on Wednesday, November 1. Murals Committee Chair, Norma Westgard said it is amazing to see an historical aspect of the city that was lost come back to life. “The Lost Murals are dedicated to all the artists that have come before us and helped to make Moose Jaw a mural capital in Canada; the artists that used their time and their talents to show Moose Jaw’s rich and exciting history. We especially remember Gus Froese, who originally painted two of these Lost Murals and thanks to Grant McLaughlin who brought our Lost Murals back to life and who does all our repairs and restorations,” said Westgard. Grant McLaughlin says it was great work- ing on the murals. He says it was especially special, working on some of Gus Froese’s murals, a long time friend and influential Moose Jaw artist. “When I worked on the project, it brought to mind just how long we’ve had a mural program here. We’re pretty much the first one in the province. There are stories that the murals tell and sometimes about the creation of them. By recreating these murals, I got to study the techniques by the artists in more details. I try to keep them as close as possible to the originals and a lot of people are quite impressed with them as they see them come back to life.”
“It was satisfying to recreate a couple of Gus’ murals. He was a long time friend and a booster of the arts in town. Murals are an excellent way to portray our history for local people and visitors to our city. It’s one of the reasons we were voted one of the coolest downtowns in the country. I hope this encourage others to do art, as well. It was absolutely great working to resurrect some of the favourites for people to enjoy,” he added.
Mayor Fraser Tolmie brought remarks on behalf of the City, commending the work of Grant and the Murals Committee to bring an integral part of Moose Jaw’s history back to life.
way to portray our history for local people and visitors to our city...”
Restorer & artist Grant McLaughlin.