Fair patrons entering the Grange Building to visit the State Fair history exhibit are finding more history than they expected. Just inside the door, Oswego artist Don Gillespie is at work on an ambitious project with a storied past of its own. It’s a re-creation of dramatic work by Charles Henry Grant (1866-1928) entitled “At the Mercy of Neptune” that Gillespie is painting in its original nine-foot-by-five-foot size. 
The original painting, first displayed in 1896 in the Oswego gallery of Gillespies’ great-grandfather, W.R.Shayes, was damaged in a fire, then restored before being exhibited at the 1897 New York State Fair. Gillespie, is planning to complete the project during the Fair or shortly thereafter, pointing for an unveiling on Sep. 25 at the Oswego Art Association gallery. It will subsequently be donated to the Maritime Museum in Oswego. 
Gillespie, a former concept artist for the space program, is selling tee-shirts and collecting donations to finance the project while painting and talking to fairgoers, especially enjoying the insightful questions he gets from kids. 
More information on the “At the Mercy of Neptune” restoration is available at www.mybrushstrokes.com/cloning-neptune/.
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