Drawing

Rosemary & Son George

Description

Framed pen and ink drawing by John Coburn titled Rosemary & Son George, depicting two Department of Sanitation recovery workers, Ronald Burrus and Harry Jamah James. In the upper left corner is Maynard Atik, pastor of Trinity Lutheran in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. In the lower right corner is 9/11 victim George C. Cain with his mother, Rosemary, depicted to the left. "May 2002 | Inside the Salvation Army Tent" is written in the upper right corner below the artist's signature. The top left side of the drawing is singed and has soot stains.

Historical Notes

After watching television news coverage of the September 11, 2001, attacks at home in Toronto, artist John Coburn felt compelled to witness the devastation firsthand and to see whether his artwork might provide emotional support to the recovery effort. He arrived in the U.S. in late fall 2001 and made his way to Ground Zero, carrying a copy of a drawing he had made of the Twin Towers and the lower Manhattan skyline years earlier. The drawing warmed the hearts of personnel at the perimeter of the World Trade Center site and aided Coburn in bypassing various barricades. Using pen and ink, he sketched the valor, generosity, and warmth that he witnessed on the streets of lower Manhattan in the fall and winter following the attacks. Of special note are drawings of the wrought iron fence ringing St. Paul’s Chapel and its graveyard, as well as those of people paying their respects and leaving tributes at the fence and around Ground Zero. Coburn became friendly with many recovery workers and volunteers at the Chapel during that time.

Coburn eventually returned to Canada and resumed his life and work there. Working with partners, he published his drawings along with inspirational quotations in the form of a book titled Healing Hearts. His goal was to present a copy to the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001.

Several years later, a fire ravaged Coburn’s home, destroying many of his belongings. However, the drawings he had made in New York in 2001 and 2002 survived. Many are damaged or burned at the edges, but the subject matter of each remains clear.