A Winnipeg senior is searching for a woman she painted more than 25 years ago.
84-year-old Joan Hibbert took a portrait painting course at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1988.
One hot day in June in the basement of the gallery, she painted the portrait of a young model named Julie.
“I just remember her walking into the room. She was stunning, she really was stunning,” said Hibbert, sitting next to the portrait, from her home in Charleswood.
She said that day in the class, there were about 15 painters, and decided to paint Julie head-on. Hibbert said she has enjoyed her portrait ever since.
Hibbert said when an artist paints a portrait, the artist looks at a person for hours and learns everything about their face. Often, she said she can’t help but wonder about the model’s personality and spirt, and with Julie, this feeling was even stronger.
“She just intrigued me, I don’t know how else you say it, and all these years,” said Hibbert,
Hibbert said Julie has inspired her over the years, and now that she's getting older, she’d like to give the painting to Julie. The problem is, all Hibbert knows about the woman is her first name.
“When I look at her portrait I just wonder how she spent her life, what pathway she followed, is she a singer? Is she a grandma?” said Hibbert.
Hibbert said she tried finding her through staff at the Winnipeg Art gallery, and the wider Winnipeg’s art community, but had received no leads so far.
"I want to find her so she doesn’t get sent to, well I don’t know, I don’t know what my children would do with her?” she wondered. “She doesn’t really mean anything to them, I’ve done portraits of them, but this is a stranger to them."
Hibbert has no idea if Julie lives in Winnipeg, in Manitoba, or if she's even still alive.
She believes based on the timeline of when she painted the portrait, that Julie is probably in her forties, and hopes the public is able to help her solve the mystery.
