Joe Campbell’s digital painting of Martin McGuinness, Bill Clinton and John Hume on the Peace Bridge
The triple portrait is by Galliagh artist Joe Campbell who sent it to the 42nd US President in 2019.
It features the three politicians on Derry’s iconic Peace Bridge.
But it was only this week that Joe received a personal letter from Mr Clinton in which he hailed the picture as “wonderful”.
He adds that both he and his wife, Hillary, will “always cherish our memories of our time in Derry”.
The Clintons first visited Derry as President and First Lady in 1995 and, since then, have each been back on several occasions.
Mr Clinton’s most recent visit to the city was for the funeral of Martin McGuinness in March 2017.
In his letter to the Clintons, Joe wrote that their visits played a “vital role” in bringing peace to the North of Ireland.
He also reveals that what inspired him to paint the portrait was Bill Clinton’s “obvious friendship” with both John Hume and Martin McGuinness.
Joe’s letter reads: “I grew up with these two remarkable men on my horizon. I, too, experienced the troubles.
“It’s still difficult to describe what over thirty years of conflict will do to a life.
“My art is now dominated by my past experiences. I now produce images and poetry that refer back to the ‘Troubles’.
“They are a cathartic form of therapy and release for me. My hope is that they may also, in some small way, help others to expose their wounds to healing air.”
In his letter to the Clintons, Joe also included a poem he wrote about legendary aviator Amelia Earhart – one of Hillary Clinton’s childhood heroes.
Earhart’s historic landing in Derry in May 1932 made her the the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
Joe tells Mrs Clinton he hopes the poem, entitled ‘Amelia’s Ghost’, will mark “our mutual respect for that elegant, American, frontiers woman, who, like you, dropped in on us long ago for tea and, in so doing, not only opened new horizons but, also, discovered a lost people and a welcome that stayed with her for the rest of her days.”
To see more of Joe’s fantastic work, visit: https://joecampbellart.com/
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