Cape Breton artist Rochelle MacQuarrie has art displayed at Louvre

Many artists can only dream of having their work displayed at the famed Louvre in Paris, but for one Cape Breton artist that dream has become a reality. 

Rochelle MacQuarrie had her work shown at the world's most famous art museum last week. A photograph she took of the Inverness boardwalk and beach was on display and she was there to see it. 

"[I got an email] that just said, 'We have chosen one of your photographs to be displayed at The Louvre,' and it's one of those emails that you get and you're like, 'This can't be real, no way. I have to check into this a little bit further,'" she told Information Morning Cape Breton.

But how did she accomplish such a feat?

"It's kind of a funny story… a friend of mine in Inverness introduced me to this gallery [in New York]. So basically what you do is you put together a portfolio of your photographs and pictures and paintings, you post it on their website and they invite you to all of these different competitions," said MacQuarrie.

The See Me gallery in New York lets artists from around the world display and promote their work globally, allowing them to gain traction at art competitions.

"This [Louvre competition] was one that I was very interested in and they ended up putting in my stuff and they ended up choosing one of my photos — so very, very exciting." 

MacQuarrie is now back home. 

'It doesn't feel real'

Her photograph was only on display for one evening but she said participating was an incredible experience. 

As for the photo that brought her to France, she said it captures a beautiful, distinctly Cape Breton moment.

"[My husband and I] had just gone down, it was just a beautiful, beautiful day. The sun was shining and it's just a picture of the boardwalk stretching off into the distance," she said.

"It doesn't feel real. When I say it myself, I'm just like, 'It was there. It was there with the Mona Lisa, in the same company as the Mona Lisa.' It's just unbelievable. For an artist, that's a dream come true." 

As for what's next: "How do you top that?" said MacQuarrie.

"I think I'm going to hold off for a bit on the competitions. I have to let this one sink in a little bit."