The True Face of Sir Isaac Brock by Guy St-Denis

Author:Guy St-Denis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History;Canada;Biography
Publisher: University of Calgary Press
Published: 2018-10-05T19:30:00+00:00

Someone at the National Portrait Gallery in London recommended Philippa Abrahams.47 As an art conservator specializing in historical painting techniques, she was thought to be well qualified for the job. Abrahams welcomed the commission, which called for the two portraits to be done in oils as opposed to the pastels of the original. In addition to the medium, the size of the copies was also modified. Abrahams was instructed to make them nearly three times larger, or about twenty-four by twenty inches (61 x 50.8 cm).48 And while she was encouraged to use her best judgement in representing the uniform, Brock’s face was not to be altered. It had to be an exact reproduction. There was one other stipulation. Abrahams had one year in which to finish the portraits. Working expeditiously and using the photographs provided by LaBrie, she was able to finish the commission ahead of the deadline in August of 1985.49

Although Weir’s intention to grace the walls of River Brink with Brock’s likeness was finally realized, it was not before LaBrie himself tried to strike his own deal to purchase the original portrait. But it was to no avail. Captain Mellish valued the profile portrait far too much. Kosche hit the same brick wall in September of 1984, when he casually asked if the captain might consider the possibility of a sale.50 Kosche was acting on behalf of the Ontario Heritage Foundation, whose executive were looking for ways in which to mark the bicentennial of Ontario’s founding in 1784.51 Even though Kosche knew that Captain Mellish had already decided to pass the portrait on to his son, he saw no harm in testing the waters. In his reply, Captain Mellish mentioned that a Mr. LaBrie had been making overtures about buying the portrait for the past two years, and that he did so in his capacity as chairman of the Weir Foundation. But whether it was the Weir Foundation or the Ontario Heritage Foundation, the captain was still not prepared to entertain the idea of a sale . . . unless, of course, the interested party was willing to hand over £250,000!52

This grossly inflated price was derived—in part—from LaBrie’s unguarded remark that the profile portrait was a national treasure.53 It is no wonder that Captain Mellish was impressed with the idea that his portrait of Brock was historically significant and therefore extremely valuable.54 But not even he believed it to be worth a quarter of a million pounds. The captain simply did not wish to part with a prized family heirloom, and by insisting on a small fortune, he was able to deflect irksome enquiries. This strategy certainly had the desired effect on the executive of the Ontario Heritage Foundation, who were quick to acknowledge that they lacked the means for such an extravagant purchase.55 The same held true for the Weir Foundation. But like Sam Weir before him, Eugene LaBrie had a plan B.

While the Abrahams copy of Brock’s profile portrait was meant to put the finishing touch on the collection at RiverBrink, it was a poor substitute for the original.

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