Bror Anders Wikstrom (Swedish/Louisiana, 1854)

Lot description

Bror Anders Wikstrom (Swedish/Louisiana, 1854-1909), "L'isle Derniere", 1890, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, canvas stamp en verso, 10 in. x 16 in., framed with title plaque. Note: Bror Anders Wikstrom began his working career as a sea captain, later forsaking maritime life for the arts. He arrived in New Orleans from Sweden around 1883 and is perhaps best remembered as a designer for elaborate Mardi Gras productions through the 1890s. Wikstrom also was highly popular during his lifetime for his Louisiana landscapes, portraits and historical subjects. His lifelong love of marine life and the sea are evident in the work offered here, as he provides a fleeting and captivating glimpse into the storied Isle Dernière in 1890. In the 1840’s Isle Dernière (L’isle Derniere) or “Last Island” on the Gulf of Mexico approximately five miles south of the mainland was a popular summer resort for residents of southern Louisiana and in particular the New Orleans area. Train and steamboat connections from the French Quarter made the island with its continuous breeze an ideal destination to escape the oppressive summer heat. Isle Dernière featured a carousel, approximately 100 vacation homes and John Muggah’s Ocean House Hotel which housed a restaurant, ballroom and offered bowling and billiards. On August 10, 1856, an unnamed hurricane, often referred to as the “Last Island Hurricane,” struck the island with a force equal to that of a Category 4 storm today devastating the island, its inhabitants and visitors. It is believed approximately 200 of the 400 people on the island perished and every building on the island was destroyed in the storm. The hurricane split Isle Dernière into two areas and much of the land eroded, leading to the island’s name to be pluralized as Isles Dernières or “Last Islands.” Subsequent hurricanes and storms have contributed to the continual erosion so that all that remains now is the “Isles Dernières Chain,” five small islands, three of which comprise the Terrebonne Barrier Islands Refuge, home to nesting waterbirds. Ref.: Dobie, Ann B. “Bror Anders Wikstrom.” 64 Parishes. www.64parishes.org. Accessed Aug. 9, 2022. Trickey, Erick. “A Hurricane Destroyed This Louisiana Resort Town, Never to Be Inhabited Again.” Smithsonian Magazine. Jan. 4, 2017. www.smithsonianmag.com. Accessed Aug. 9, 2022.