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The long forgotten artwork found on the floor of Alaska’s abandoned Eldred Rock Lighthouse in the 1970s by Coast Guardsman Paul Christian is now back home and on display in Haines, Alaska.
When Paul Christian found the artwork rolled up on the floor at the abandoned lighthouse, he thought that it was neat and kept for years.
Last year, he sent the artwork to us. Nearly 50 years after it had been drawn by J. L. Garrick, a young Coast Guardsman, who was stationed at the lighthouse in 1969, we published an image of the artwork and began an effort to track down the man who drew it.
Without knowing his first name, we were able to locate Joseph L. Garrick, now 72, who confirmed that he was the young artist who drew the artwork titled, “Welcome to Eldred Rock Bar and Grill, Island Paradise.” In the January/February 2018 edition of Lighthouse Digest, we published his story with photographs that he so graciously shared with us of his time at the remote Alaskan lighthouse.
When the folks at the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association inquired about the possibility of acquiring the artwork, Lighthouse Digest was more than happy to facilitate. They had it framed, with the original Lighthouse Digest article, and it was put on display in the window of Howsers IGA Supermarket, one of Haines, Alaska’s three grocery stores, on the main street of the community of approximately 1800 people.
The Alaska Arts Confluence in Haines, Alaska facilitated the installation of the artwork and celebrated the framing and display of the artwork with a First Friday Open House.
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