I found this report very interesting, especially LGen Daillaire's perspective ...
Divergent portraits of war
Canadian heroes relive their battles: War Museum's 'anguished' portrait troubles Dallaire
Elizabeth Payne, The Ottawa Citizen, May 7, 2005
CREDIT: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen
The painting of retired Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire is set on a camouflage background and depicts him wearing the blue beret of the UN, one hand covering his face. While Lt.-Gen. Dallaire is concerned with the placement of the work, museum officials have said they have not received any complaints.
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Retired Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire says he is uncomfortable with the placement of an anguished portrait of him at the Canadian War Museum and would like it moved.
"I just felt that maybe people don't want to see something like that up front," Lt.-Gen. Dallaire said of the portrait by Toronto artist Gertrude Kearns that hangs on the portrait wall near the front of the building.
The powerful portrait, on nylon canvas printed in a camouflage pattern, depicts an emotional Lt.-Gen. Dallaire wearing the blue beret of the UN, one hand covering his face.
It is one of a series of paintings Ms. Kearns has done on Lt.-Gen. Dallaire and Rwanda. Another of her portraits of the general hangs further inside the museum.
The former head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, interviewed by phone from Quebec City, said he finds the painting "difficult."
"I'm surprised they would have considered it to be in the war museum to start with."
Although Lt.-Gen. Dallaire won't be able to visit the new museum until later this month, he said a colleague contacted him with concerns that the painting was one of the first things museum visitors would see. Lt.-Gen. Dallaire agrees.
"It's not the kind of exhibit you want right near the entrance," he said.
Lt.-Gen. Dallaire, 58, led the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide that was ignored by the UN and the Western world.
Lt.-Gen. Dallaire warned the UN of the approaching conflict, but he and his soldiers were left to look on as men, women and children were slaughtered before their eyes. He returned to Canada with post-traumatic stress syndrome and, at one point, tried to kill himself.
The author of Shake Hands with the Devil has spent the past few years travelling the country and telling his story.
Lt.-Gen. Dallaire has told Ms. Kearns that he finds the series of Rwanda paintings she did of him powerful, but difficult. He has only seen copies of the works, but the two have been in contact about the portraits.
The paintings have been called "brutal and brilliant," as well as "psychologically complex" by art critics.
Museum director Joe Geurts said yesterday he is not aware of any concerns about the Dallaire portrait.
"I have not personally heard from anyone who has visited the museum who has had any difficulty with that work," Mr. Geurts said.
And Lt.-Gen. Dallaire said it is "OK if they decide to leave it there. ... What (the museum) decides is up to them."
The portrait is the second of Ms. Kearns' works on the museum's portrait wall that has drawn fire in the days leading up to the opening of the $136-million museum. Earlier this week, Cliff Chadderton, chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations, said he plans to boycott the opening because of Ms. Kearns' paintings depicting soldiers Clayton Matchee and Kyle Brown. The two were involved in the torture and death of Somali teenager Shidane Arone in 1993.
Mr. Chadderton, who called the works insulting, told the Citizen the paintings have no place in the museum. He even offered to pay to have them taken down. A few other veterans have written to the Citizen in support of his view.
In an interview this week, Ms. Kearns said she's not surprised the works are controversial, but that is one reason they belong in the Canadian War Museum.
"I wouldn't have been interested in the subject matter if it hadn't been controversial," she said of the Somalia affair. "It grabbed my imagination."
Ms. Kearns said she is surprised Mr. Chadderton is so upset by the Somalia paintings, since the fundraising group Friends of the War Museum, made up largely of veterans, was behind their purchase.
Nor are the paintings new to the museum. They have been part of its permanent collection -- albeit in storage -- for years.
Museum officials, who strongly support Ms. Kearns' works, have said they are proud the museum has not shied away from tough subjects.
Ms. Kearns says there is no doubt her paintings belong in the museum. And the fact that people are talking about them is a good thing.
"The Canadian public should realize that the conditions around missions are incredibly difficult."
Three of Ms. Kearns' works are displayed on the museum's portrait wall. In addition to the portrait of Lt.-Gen. Dallaire and the painting of Kyle Brown is a portrait of a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder. The museum also has a poster by Ms. Kearns of Gen. Lewis McKenzie, with the words "Keep The Peace or I'll Kill You" written below. That is not on display at the museum.
Ms. Kearns said she is thrilled her works are in the new war museum. The museum's art curator, Laura Brandon, said people who have been through the museum during pre-opening tours generally have a different view of Ms. Kearns' works than those who have not yet seen the museum.
"Anyone who has come to the museum and been around the exhibits understands the whole picture."
There are nearly 500 pieces of war art on display in the museum. The portrait wall contains 26 paintings, including an honoured hero, a laughing war bride, a child, a drowning sailor and others.
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