ABOUT MISS LASSIE

MIND’S EYE – THE VISIONARY WORLD OF GLADWYN K. BUSH, “MISS LASSIE”

MISS LASSIE’S HOUSE

Miss Lassie’s House is an authentic turn of the century Caymanian wattle and daub abode, built by her father and grandfather, who started to work on it in 1878.  The living and sleeping quarters were completed three years later, in 1881.  In the early part of last century, the house became a major hub (way-station) for travellers to George Town from the Eastern districts. It boasted many hammocks where travellers could rest and refresh themselves before continuing their journey.  13 people lived in the house at one time or other – Miss Lassie’s mother and father and eleven siblings, of which she was the last.

When Miss Lassie started painting what she saw in her “mind’s eye”, as she described it, she painted on the walls, windows and ceilings of the house, transforming it into, not only a place of historic relevance, but also a piece of art in and of itself.

In 2009 after her death and that of her only son, the Cayman Islands Government purchased the property and vested it in the Cultural Foundation.  Since that time, CNCF has meticulously restored and preserved the artist’s home for the people of the Cayman Islands to experience an embodiment of their cultural and artistic heritage, to keep alive the memory of the artist as a National Cultural Treasure and, by its use, to educate, promote, develop and research Caymanian and intuitive art, culture and heritage.

The single-storey, 5-bay timber-framed building comprises two distinct parts with timber partitioned rooms. Fronting onto the street is the older 3-roomed cottage of local hardwood that resists insect attack – “ironwood” posts with infill panels of local “candlestick” wood, pasted over with local lime daub with a local binding agent taken from the cactus “tuna” plant.  Called the “Ironwood Portion” the cottage has a timber floor about 2’.6” inches from the ground and hip roof measuring approximately 32’ by 17’.  There are five windows and four full door openings, shuttered by half panels, that open in opposite directions. Its original covering was silver-thatch palm leaves, later changed to wood shingles and now corrugated metal. But for the change of roof covering, this cottage is an authentic example of classical Caymanian vernacular architecture.  In 1949, a 3-room, metal shed-roofed, attachment – the “Clinker-Siding Portion” was added by Miss Lassie’s brother, Floriston. It is attached to the Southern end of the cottage and sits directly on a concrete slab, approximately 32’ by 12’.  Timber batten doors and windows, some from pine, are hinged to the House with salvaged ship parts.

A duplex, backing onto the sea, was built in the 1980s as an income-earning property.  It is also timber-framed with metal gable roof, industrial horizontal windows, and wooden doors.

The home has been featured in numerous newspaper articles and local television programming, and on the World Monument Fund’s 2012 Watch List, bringing international attention to the unique heritage site.

MIND’S EYE – THE VISIONARY WORLD OF GLADWYN K. BUSH, “MISS LASSIE”

ABOUT MISS LASSIE

A 4th generation Caymanian, Gladwyn K, “Lassie” Bush began painting at the age of 62, after what she describes as a visionary experience. Strong Christian themes run through her work, which she painted not only on canvas, but also on the walls, windows a and furnishings of her home. Mrs. Bush was awarded a national honour, Member of the British Empire (MBE)in 1997 and received the award during the Queen’s Birthday celebrations in Grand Cayman on June 15,1998. She was also a recipient of the Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s Heritage Award. Her work is documented in the 156-age art book, My Markings -the Art of Gladwyn K. Bush, published by the Cultural Foundation. Examples of her work formed part of the travelling exhibition of contemporary Caribbean Art, ‘Carib Art’, and she is one of the artists profiled in books on intuitive art worldwide: Raw Creation (Phaidon Press), Caribbean Art (Themes and Hudson) and Fantasy Worlds (Benedikt Taschen Verlag). Her work is in private collections in England, the United States, Jamaica, South Africa, Germany and the Cayman Islands, and in the collection of the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Miss Lassie passed away on Monday, November 24, 2003 at the age of 89.

Conserved and restored by CNCF for future generation. We are currently seeking sponsorship for this initiative.

Email: cncf@artscayman.org to support Mind’s Eye