Exhibition by Frances Lemmon

William Le Lacheur The Land He Loved

My interest in William Le Lacheur started in 2015 when I was commissioned by the late Joan Ozanne MBE to paint two oil paintings for the Forest School.  One was of William Le Lacheur and the other was of his ship The Monarch, together they hang in the foyer of Forest School.

The portrait of William Le Lacheur intrigued me and as she was always willing and happy to share her enthusiasm for the subject, Joan told me more about this famous Guernsey man and his endeavours.

The more I found out about him, the more I realised that not many people knew this story and so began a journey to reach William Le Lacheur’s Costa Rica – a journey that was realised last January through the Guernsey Arts Commission when I set off for San Ramon for a three week art residency. Whilst in San Ramon I lived with a local family, which had a space to paint in and curated a pop-up exhibition of my sketches in San Ramon Regional Museum. 

Throughout 2019, as part of their ongoing collaboration with Art for Guernsey, 16 local schools also studied William Le Lacheur's legacy. The pupils produced artworks inspired by his lifetime achievements in Costa Rica. The project also included a Football Festival where hundreds of children played with their own designed shirts inspired by the special relationship between Costa Rica and Guernsey. It culminated in a shared exhibition in June 2019 of the student’s work and my paintings of Costa Rica.

 Finally, this exhibition looks at the various different aspects of William Le Lacheur; humble Guernsey man, ambitious entrepreneur, political champion but above all things, a true humanitarian.

I would like to thank the Guernsey Arts Commission and Arts Foundation Guernsey for enabling this exhibition to happen.   

My thanks also to Guernsey Museums and Galleries, Art for Guernsey, Melissa Mourton, Armanda Vargas-Araya, Sheila Pacheco, Peter Lyons, David Ummels, Gillian Lenfestey, Sian Ellis and Isabel Chaves for their individual contributions to this project.

Frances Lemmon

William Le Lacheur became a national hero in Costa Rica and is credited with  transforming that country from being the poorest in Central America to the wealthiest, in less than a quarter of a century. William Le Lacheur's ships went on to feature on Costa Rican bank notes and postage stamps during the 19th and 20th centuries. Whilst here in Guernsey his land of birth he is largely a forgotten figure.

Frances` project aimed to bring the significance and scale of his endeavours and legacy back into the consciousness of our community, recognising and celebrating his great achievements. This exhibition focused on the life of William Le Lacheur from his early years in the Forest Parish through to his Costa Rican trade with Costa Rica. 

We were thrilled when Mr Rafael Ortiz Fábrega the Costa Rican Ambassador to the UK arranged his visit to Guernsey ahead of Costa`s 2021 bicentenary, reaching out to establish a relationship with Guernsey through this rich shared heritage. The Exhibition, was opened by The Bailiff of Guernsey Sir Richard Collas, and attended by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Ian Cordor along with His Excellency Mr Rafael Ortiz Fábrega the Costa Rican Ambassador to the UK and Jorge Aguilar, Minister Counsellor Costa Rica embassy.

A number of schools visited U3A arranged a private viewing. We will continue to foster opportunities with Costa Rica and currently Tim Wright Head of Guernsey Music Service is investigating the possibility of fostering a music connection.

Guernsey Arts