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Wednesday, November 24, 2010 Orono Weekly Times - 5 Museum receives original art by Camp 30 POW Martha Rutherford, administrator of the Clarington Museum, couldn't believe what she had been given when the daughter of Ernie Moody presented her with five tightly rolled up pieces of paper in September. When carefully unrolled, the five sheets of paper approximately 28 inches long by 20 inches wide - revealed very detailed drawings of large, impressive European buildings. The drawings, in pastel on brown kraft paper, and dated 1944, were given by a German prisoner of war (POW) to a Bowmanville resident, Ernie Moody, who worked at Camp 30 while the Germans were interred there, stringing hydro lines. It was Moody's daughter who donated the paintings, which had always been rolled up and stored away, to the museum. The only information Moody's daughter had on the works was that they were scenes from Germany painted from memory by a homesick POW. She wanted them to go where they would be properly cared for, and accessible to the public, according to Rutherford. The paintings have an emblem on the bottom right-hand corner, each depicting a different German province. The museum has consulted with an art historian as to how the five pieces can be properly Shown above are two of the five drawings made during World War II by an unknown German POW at Bowmanville's Camp 30. The original drawings, donated by the daughter of former Camp 30 employee Ernie Moody, are currently on display at the Kirby School House - Clarington Museum. restored. For now, they have placed the five works of art on display at the school house in Kirby, where they will have a chance to unroll properly. Rutherford said the muse- um has over the years received copies of art work produced by former POW's while they were stationed in Bowmanville. These were mostly ink and pencil draw- ings, according to Rutherford. She has never received original artwork of the quality of these five drawings. Prisoners did make paper machete puppets which were elaborately painted, Rutherford said, which were used in puppet theatre productions at the camp. Staff at the museum is going through records of POW's to see if they can find out who the artist was. The artist initialled each piece with "G-é". Rutherford concedes they might never find out who the artist is because the records of prisoners are not complete. While recognizing she is no expert in the field of art, Rutherford said the pieces are of such a quality, "G-é" could possibly have become an artist of quite some renown in Germany following the war. The Kirby School House is open to the public on Thursdays from 12:30 to 4 p.m.