Granda Glover on Bragg's Island | 1991 | Etching 50 of 75

About the Artwork

Granda Glover on Bragg's Island (1991) is an etching and aquatint with hand-colouring by David Blackwood (1941–2022), honouring his maternal grandfather David Glover. 

In an August 1991 letter to West End Gallery, Blackwood wrote: "Granda Glover was my maternal Grandfather and lived on Bragg's Island about 16 miles out in Bonavista Bay... He was a cod trap fisherman all his life, even when he became a successful merchant supplying three local outport villages. The print shows him as I remember, in from hauling the trap, a daily ritual early every morning and late afternoon. The house is no longer there but the willow tree remains where my grandmother planted it. It was fenced around to protect it from sheep and goats."¹ David Glover was a cod trap fisherman all his life—hauling traps twice daily, cleaning fish at his splitting table—even after becoming the only merchant in the community. Like most Bonavista North men, he was involved with the seal hunt every spring, serving as a highly regarded Master Watch on the S.S. Eagle and S.S. Imogene.²

David Glover was fiercely independent, opposed to Newfoundland joining Canada. When Premier Joey Smallwood visited Bragg's Island, Glover refused to speak with him: "We're doing something important here, and I don't have time to waste on politicians."

He built the family house high on the rocks—a haven against vicious storms, with a big back kitchen where a man could remove his fishing gear before entering the main house, and distinctive diamond-shaped windows. When government resettlement forced the evacuation of Bragg's Island, Glover locked himself in his shed and wouldn't come out. His own son had to dismantle the house piece by piece. William Gough records the aftermath: "David Glover lived for years after that week, in a house in a growth centre. He sat and looked at the wall."³ The willow tree Alfreda planted still stands on Bragg's Island—the house has vanished, but the tree endures as witness to a way of life that sustained generations.

Dimensions and Details

• Title: Granda Glover on Bragg's Island
• Artist: David Blackwood (1941–2022)
• Year: 1991
• Size: 11" × 14" (27.9cm × 35.6 cm)
• Medium: Etching and aquatint with hand-colouring on paper
• Edition: 5075
• Condition: Pristine. This impression has never been displayed and remains in museum-quality condition. Stored in archival darkness since creation, the hand-coloured pinks and earth tones retain full saturation, the aquatint sky shows complete tonal gradations, and the paper remains bright white. Colours are noticeably more vibrant than works exposed to ambient light. Professionally framed; signed and numbered by the artist.

Acquisition Enquiries

Granda Glover on Bragg's Island is offered exclusively through West End Gallery. Serious acquisition enquiries are welcome. We invite you to contact us directly to arrange a private viewing. Layaway options are available upon request. Shipping is quoted based on location; local delivery within Edmonton and surrounding communities is complimentary.