Barry Coulter
It's a striking image, with possibly a very striking history, and it goes to show what striking items can be found at our local thrift stores.
Volunteers at the newly re-opened Cranbrook Health Care Auxiliary Thrift Store came in one day to find a painting, donated anonymously, in an ancient wooden case which appears specially designed to hold it. The painting, in oils, is dark and stained with the process of time, but it was determined that it is of great age — possibly as old as 300 years or more. The plaster of paris frame is only one clue. The approximate age, not to mention the artist or nationality, cannot be determined without extensive restoration work the painting needs (no signature is visible).
The painting shows a horseman who's been attacked by a trio of wolves, and is fighting them off. One wolf has the horse by the throat, another wolf is dead on the ground, the horseman is firing at the third.
The painting, which hung in the Thrift Store's art gallery, has been sold — and the buyer intends to donate it to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria.
Barry Coulter photo