A new 45-foot-long mural depicting 400 years of Vineyard Haven history was unveiled on Saturday. The Tisbury mural, which overlooks the Water street parking lot and is aside the Stop & Shop grocery store, now greets any visitor to the town coming off the Steamship Authority lot.

On one side of the picture there are Native Americans at home near the shore. At the far opposite end of the nine-panel mural, there is a bustling community with the Steamship Authority ferry Island Home in the harbor.

The ceremony was as much a statement about a collaborative effort between people as the mural’s two year making. The event began with a huge Stop & Shop truck parked directly in front of the mural to block the public view, remaining there until the moment of revelation. A crowd of 60 people strolled the park, sharing stories about their involvement in this public art project. There were members of the Tisbury mural committee, artists and their friends, town officials and students.

“Today is really special. This mural is an example of what we can do in this community,” said Tristan Israel, town selectman. “This project involved all aspects of the town.” Mr. Israel gave a list of town departments, town officials, artists, students and supporters from across the community. Mr. Israel then turned and looked toward Paul Brissette, visual arts director at the regional high school and a resident of Tisbury.

“It seems appropriate that this mural should be here, the historical gateway to the Island,” Mr. Brissette said. “It is said that Norman Rockwell could compress a feature length movie into a frame. In a similar fashion, this mural compresses 400 years of history into one picture.” More than 30 students, together with a dozen artists, worked through the year on the project.

Deborah Medders, chairman of the Tisbury Mural Committee and town moderator, praised the efforts of the many who came together. She recalled meeting with Sam Koohy, manager of the Stop & Shop, two years ago. “I remember talking to Sam in the cereal aisle at the Stop & Shop about the idea of a mural. He grinned and said: ‘Why not?’ ’’

She said the project began as the town finished the rebuilding of the well-used parking lot. Once that work was complete, she said, attention shifted to the adjoining buildings. “It is from there that a group of residents went before the selectmen in January of 2008,” she said.

A committee of seven people had their first meeting in March of 2008. “We began soliciting designs from Island artists, soliciting comments on the submitted designs, soliciting funds in-kind and financial help,” she said. The talent of Island youth and Island artists came together. Local businesses stepped forward. There was a public viewing. “We found that the project continued to gain so much interest and enthusiasm,” she said.

Artist Anne Grandin and Tom Larson, good friends and business partners who worked out the earliest version of the mural, were introduced to the audience. Praise was passed around.

Then Michael Carroll of Carroll’s Trucking, the driver of the truck, put his foot on the accelerator and the truck moved out of the way so the finished mural could be seen. The crowd cheered and applauded. Cameras clicked.

Later, Mr. Brissette said the effort to paint the project went through the past winter, most of the effort exerted on weekends and away from classroom time. The mural is made up of nine aluminum sign panels, each measuring ten by five feet in size. It was assembled with the help of students from the school building trades department.

The mural was painted using high quality acrylic house paint. Mr. Brissette said a lot of research went into getting the paint right.

Students used cookie trays as palates.

Mr. Brissette said that over 28-plus years of teaching at the high school, he has been involved in many community-run projects. But what set this one apart, Mr. Brissette recalled, was that in years past he remembered a small number of people doing a lot.

This was entirely different; a lot of people stepped in to help, including more than 30 of his classroom students. “It is great having the support of a team,” Mr. Brissette said.

Ms. Medders credited the work of her mural committee: Don Amaral, Mr. Brissette, Dolly Campbell, Nicole Ferguson, Judy Cronig, Robert Townes and the outreach of many who sought to make the project a success.