In 1903, a great fire that started at the Davis Shoe Shop destroyed several buildings at the corner of Main, Storer and Water streets in Kennebunk, where the Lafayette Center is now located. The loss of the shoe factory ruined a thriving business, put a large number of people out of work and cast a pall over the town.

Out of the ashes of the fire came, not a phoenix, but a gray and white striped tiger cat. The large, male cat had been living at the factory and at the nearby grist mill for 15 years. Even though he was singed and scruffy, he miraculously survived without any serious injury.

The cat, whose name is not known, went on to live another of his lives as a local celebrity. Bick Store Museum director Tracy Baetz says, “He became not only famous but a symbol of hope throughout town.”

The “Fire Cat” had no trouble finding a new place to live: at The Eastern Star newspaper office. A well-known photographer of that era, B. J. Whitcomb, sold photographic portraits of the cat for a fund to cover the feline survivor's care. Prints of the photo are available for purchase at the Brick Store Museum, as are copies of many of the images in their archives.

Today, as part of the Brick Store Museum’s exhibition, A Brush with History, Kennebunk artist Carol Santora selected Whitcomb’s 1903 Fire Cat photograph to interpret in pastel.

Santora, an animal painter and portraitist, says, “The Fire Cat was so regal and intent in his pose, I had to paint him and make him come to life again. After I read his history, I wanted to paint him even more.”

When painting her version of the black and white photo, she chose the color blue for the background “because it’s the color of hope,” she says. “I considered transposing part of the actual fire scene in the background or incorporating fire-fighting implements like a water bucket and fireman's helmet, but in the end I decided to include part of the Davis Shoe Factory where the fire started and where the cat lived.”

The Santora Fine Art Gallery is at 23 Fletcher Street. Visit www.carolsantora.com to see step-by-step pictures of how the painting of the cat was created.