A fishing station dating to the late 1600s, by Gerard Edema (via The Rooms)
The Rooms is inviting suggestions from the public on the possible communities rendered in a number of 17th Century paintings believed to be among the earliest known depiction of North America.
The paintings, by Dutch artist Gerard van Edema, depict fishing activity in Newfoundland, dating to the late 1600s.
The manager with Collections and Exhibitions at The Rooms, Mark Ferguson, says Edema is believed to have come to Newfoundland and traveled along the coast between Bonavista and Trepassey on the tip of the southern Avalon.
Ferguson says the areas depicted in the paintings have yet to be identified and they’re hoping that the public can help determine where they’re located.
Although the depictions are somewhat fanciful, Ferguson says there is little doubt that the paintings depict Newfoundland locales.
“We’re pretty certain that these are of Newfoundland,” says Ferguson. “It’s never going to be 100 per cent certain, until we find some other piece of evidence that shows he was here. And that may or may not ever turn up, except for these two accounts that he was here.”
Interestingly, the paintings also depict women, which is the earliest proof of women participating in the migratory fishery.
