Lot 644
Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
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Born in England in 1865, Wilfred Thomason Grenfell studied medicine at London University and soon thereafter joined the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen as a medical missionary in 1887. After five years of service, Grenfell became a master mariner, sailing to Labrador for the first time in 1892. Grenfell was so shocked by the sheer poverty and level of starvation exhibited by his fellow Englishmen and Indigenous populations alike, that he dedicated the rest of his life to improving the living conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador.
While Grenfell contributed greatly to the social infrastructure of the community by building hospitals, orphanages and medical missions, it was his investment in the cottage industry of handicrafts and hooked mat making that established him as a lasting figure in the Canadian social fabric. Believing that long-term development would come from sustained local initiatives rather than outside financial donations, Grenfell organized, with the help of the American artist and occupational therapist Jessie Luther, a profitable weaving practice for women in the community. Through the sale of their craft, local women could augment their family’s income which was being jeopardized by declining fish stock.
These Grenfell mats, as they have come to be known, not only depict everyday life in the rugged maritime province but also illuminate the integral role of women in the unforgiving early years of settlement.