September 15 marks the 125th anniversary of Jumbo’s death in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Jumbo was an international superstar whose rags-to-riches story was written by two larger than life characters: Matthew Scott, his trainer, and Phineas Taylor Barnum, the impresario. Neither Scott nor PT Barnum could have predicted how Jumbo’s life ended abruptly late that night. But as in a Hollywood tear-jerker each man reacted differently to loss and the contrast was dramatic: a tragedy for one and an opportunity for the other. But for Jumbo it was a premature death far from where his tragic life began in Northeast Africa in 1861.
As part of her series, “Elephants We Must Never Forget: New paintings, drawings and prints” at the Galerie St. Etienne in Manhattan, Sue Coe depicts the fatal moment when Jumbo was hit by a freight train. Sue Coe and Kim Stallwood will be speaking at the show’s opening at the Galerie St. Etienne on Tuesday, October 14. More of Sue’s art can be seen at Graphic Witness.
