A Piece of History Joins Titanic — There But for the Grace Of

Every work at Art Encompassed begins with a story, but occasionally a piece of history finds its way into that story after the work itself has been created.

We are incredibly pleased to announce the newest addition to Titanic — There But for the Grace Of: an original April 16, 1912 edition of The Brantford Daily Expositor, published in Ontario in the immediate aftermath of the sinking of RMS Titanic.

Across its front page, the headline reads, “WORST IS CONFIRMED — STEAMER TITANIC IS LOST WITH OVER A THOUSAND LIVES — LATE DETAILS.”

The newspaper captures an extraordinary moment in history, when news of the disaster was still unfolding and the world was only beginning to comprehend what had happened in the North Atlantic.

The newspaper was generously gifted to Art Encompassed by the family of Shaun Gagne in Ontario. We would especially like to thank Debbie and the family for entrusting this remarkable piece of history to us.

Rather than displaying the newspaper separately, we wanted it to become part of the larger visual narrative surrounding Titanic. It has now been carefully mounted and presented in a custom display above the sculpture. The deep black surrounding field and layered wood detailing were chosen to echo the materials and tones of the sculpture below, allowing the historical document and artwork to read as one cohesive presentation.

The original newspaper now sits above the illuminated Titanic as an artifact from the real world overlooking an artistic interpretation of the event it reported.

Titanic — There But for the Grace Of was created as more than a model of a famous ship. It is a cinematic narrative sculpture intended to capture a fleeting moment in history through scale, atmosphere, light, movement and storytelling.

The addition of an authentic newspaper published as the disaster was being reported adds another layer to that narrative. The sculpture interprets the story through art while the newspaper preserves the voice of those who were living through it.

Together, they bridge more than a century.

We are incredibly proud to have this piece of history become part of the permanent presentation of Titanic — There But for the Grace Of and grateful to the Gagne family for making that possible.

The completed installation is now on display at Art Encompassed. Pop by and experience it in person.

Every work begins with a story.