Huge mural taken for a walk through town

A huge painting was walked through the streets of St George’s to be moved to a new location.

The mural, painted by Emile Antoine Verpillex was moved from the Town Hall to the World Heritage Centre yesterday afternoon.

It had to be carried through the streets of the Old Towne by five people.

The painting is part of a collection of six large paintings of Bermuda scenes painted in the 1930s and is undergoing a restoration.

Mrs Wendell Anderson, of Michigan, donated the collection to the Corporation of St George’s in 1955.

Mrs Anderson’s late husband had commissioned the paintings for their Michigan home.

The couple also had a property, Belvue, in Bermuda for many years.

These paintings used to be displayed in the coffer ceiling of the upper room in the Town Hall, but since Hurricane Fabian, they have been in storage wrapped in plastic.

The paintings are of considerable historic and artistic interest in depicting life and scenery in Bermuda at that time.

The first painting of the collection has now been restored and is on view in the conference room in the Town Hall.

Michael Whittle, Michael Spurling, David Fox, Donnie McLaughlin and Jeannie Olander helped to move the mural Tuesday afternoon.