St George is one of Bermuda’s finest assets, which is particularly true when applied to the promotion of tourism. I know this from personal experience, as I live in St George and frequently meet up with our visitors, thus I can report that most whom I meet are completely charmed by the old town. Indeed, they tell me that St George is their number one Bermuda experience.Its charms and history are so attractive that over the years, numerous artists have spent time recreating St George on paper and canvas. The earliest depiction of St George goes back almost four hundred years, to 1624 when Captain John Smith published his, “A Generall Historie of Virginia. New England and the Summer Isles”. Within this book is a map of Bermuda surrounded by vignettes of varying buildings, including Bermuda’s first stone building, the State House and an early view of the St George’s town square with St Peter’s in the background.St George back then in 1624, was very different in appearance from that of today. Nevertheless, the remarkable thing is just how little it has changed over the last 200 years. This is made evident from early 19th Century paintings and engravings currently on view at the Ace Gallery in the Ace Insurance Building. The exhibition honours the 400th anniversary of the founding of St George and is made possible by the Bermuda National Trust.What this exhibition does is showcase the development of St George and that in itself is fascinating. Besides Captain Smith’s engravings, there is also a 1731 panoramic drawing of the town by an unknown artist, which illustrates our early stone architecture. That was before sash windows, for all the windows depicted in this drawing are of the casement type; each window being made-up of numerous small diamond panes, each surrounded by lead mullions.The development continues, but the pace picks-up especially in the 19th Century, with numerous drawings and paintings by artists that are now known by name, such as Thomas Driver, JCS Green, Lt Edmund G Hallewell and Edward James and other, lesser known artists, such as the Hon Maria A. Lewis, Lt Henry Somerset Choi and Lt HS Clive.It should be noted that many of these 19th Century artists had a military connection, but toward the end of the century, Bermudian artists begin to put in an appearance. Most of these are women and it is now thought that at least some were taught by Edward James who is a mysterious character.Although he was a remarkable artist, his background is largely unknown, but rumours have it that he came from an important English family. It is even suggested that Edward James was not his real name. Whatever the case, one of the early Bermudian artists who is being featured in this show, is Susan Frith. She is represented by a watercolour of “Stockdale”, the former home of Bermuda’s first printer.Considering Edward James again, of the several paintings by him in this exhibition, I noted a view of St George from Barrack Hill. It is remarkable for its precise details, especially the architecture, but also in the depiction of people and ships in the harbour.This exhibition continues through tomorrow, but in addition to this Ace exhibition, there was another St George exhibition at the Masterworks Museum, focused on St Peter’s church, which is likewise, 400 years old this year and to help with the celebration, the Queen recognised the significance of St Peter’s, in a ceremony called the intituling or the giving of a title, which in this instance is: “their Majesties Chappell”.The St Peter’s exhibition was made possible by a relatively new organisation called the Friends of St Peter’s, which was formed in 2005 under the patronage of the Duke of York.Although we all know the parish church in St George as St Peter’s, it has only been known by that name since 1826, when the church was consecrated by Bishop Inglis. Before that it was known as the St George’s town church or more simply, the town church.For this exhibition, a group of artists were invited to submit paintings, that in some way, depict St Peter’s. There are about a dozen or more artists represented and ten artists had their work for sale, with at least some of the proceeds going to St Peter’s. These artists included Diana Amos, Pam Darrell, Christopher Grimes, Molly Godet, Emma Ingham, Jill Amos Raine, Bill Rogers, Nicholas Silk, and Otto Trott.When I learned that artists had been invited to submit work for this unjuried exhibition, I wondered what I would find. It is a pleasure to report that the exhibition was very good and seeing it was an enjoyable experience. It ended on August 29.These art exhibitions are attempts by private organisations to showcase St George, and the old town needs whatever help it can get. Certainly its neglect on the part of Government is obvious. Up until now, a number of important celebrations in connection with St George, such as the 400th anniversary of the arrival of our first colonists and the founding of the town of St George along with the establishment of St Peter’s church, all of which were celebrated earlier this year, have come and gone without any significant recognition by Government and especially the Ministry of Tourism.Even the 2009 celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the wreck of the Sea Venture were muted compared to the state of Virginia’s celebration in 2007 of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Mind you, it cost about $45 million to do so, but that investment generated $1.2 billion in sales in Virginia alone. This also generated an estimated $28 million in taxes and created 20,621 new jobs. Additionally, the exposure of Virginia in the media, resulted in coverage of more than 12 billion website impressions, that, it is projected, will benefit Virginia’s tourism for years to come.Since Bermuda’s early history is so closely linked with that of Virginia, it made sense to take advantage of their celebrations, by giving prominence to Bermuda’s founding, but did we? No. Yet St George has a huge advantage over Jamestown, in that the old town is an intact, living community, whereas Jamestown is an archeological site. Even Williamsburg is largely a reconstruction. By the 20th Century, many of its important public buildings from the colonial period had disappeared, with only archeological traces left.It is encouraging that the new Tourism Plan puts such a high value on St George, but in order to put it on the tourism map, it will take detailed planning and money. Regarding costs, let us consider the investment made in Jamestown and the profitable returns it accrued. I contend that an investment in St George will likewise bring good financial returns.