Mysterious painting of 18th-century Fortress Louisbourg found at N.S. airport

A painting of 18th century Louisbourg was found at the Sydney airport, and now, the question is who was the artist?

There’s a mystery unfolding at a Nova Scotia airport.

A large painting depicting Cape Breton’s Fortress Louisbourg in the 18th century has been found at the JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport. Many employees there have the same questions: Who made it, when did they do it and why?

“We know it’s the Fortress of Louisbourg, but that is all we know about it,” said Courtney Davis, manager of marketing and communications at the Sydney Airport.

Davis said it is believed the painting once hung on the wall at the airport long ago but it was tucked away in a storage room and forgotten about.

As far as anyone can tell, the piece has no signature, adding to the intrigue.

“We know that it hung in the terminal somewhere, but we have no idea where,” Davis said. “We know nothing about it. It’s beautiful. Somebody spent a lot of time and a lot of effort on this. We would love to find out who it was.”

People on social media and local radio stations have speculated about the identity of the anonymous artist as they try to unravel this enigma.

At New Country 103.5 in nearby Membertou First Nation, on-air personality Tashia Lee said the painting captured her imagination and she wanted to share it with their audience listeners to try to solve the mystery.

“Nothing really as of yet, but I keep looking every day and I’ve pinned it to the top of our page to find out who actually did this painting,” Lee said. “Hopefully we’ll find out where it came from and who did it.”

Davis notes that while the painting shows Fortress Louisbourg as it would have appeared in the 18th century, it is believed the piece was completed sometime much more recently.

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