The Creative City of Saint John

Book excerpt: This book presents a wide-ranging portrayal of the creative work done in Saint John in the hundred years following Confederation. Beautiful watercolour and oil paintings, early fossil discoveries, successful bestselling authors and other examples of the creative city are brought together in this volume. Among the many surprising and interesting accounts: the contribution to Maritime natural history made by a butterfly found in the city, the role of the city's Great Fire in generating a host of visual artists documenting the urban landscape, and the little-known Hollywood connection that made the city a hotbed of film production — in the early 1900s.