Browsing “Illustrated Vancouver Series”

Simon Fraser’s Canoes Descending the Fraser River by John Innes & G.H. Southwell [unrestored]

A 1936 Vancouver Golden Jubliee brochure featuring a scene from the Spencer’s 1927 murals.

This is the epic story of a forgotten art project that dates back to the time of Canada’s 50th 60th birthday celebration of Confederation, July of 1927. Allow me to briefly paint the backdrop to this story. The location: the newly renovated David Spencer department store in Vancouver (now the home of SFU Harbour Centre). The commission: a series of 10 historical paintings by two prominent artists of the day, John Innes and G.H. Southwell. What has become of these murals today? Read on…

The earliest account I have mentioning the murals at Spencer’s is the Tuesday, July 5, 1927 edition of the Vancouver Daily Province (page 22). The article gives notice of the upcoming unveiling of 10 paintings and is illustrated with this Vancouver Archives photo.

It describes how the pictures have been painted as part of Spencer’s commemoration of Canada’s Diamond Jubilee, and that they will remain on display on the main floor of the building as permanent wall decorations after the Jubilee celebrations. It’s my guess that the series of 8 historical paintings John Innes had completed a few years earlier helped to secure this commission.

This article also gives an indication of the scale of these paintings, citing four by eighteen feet (seems to be the dimensions of Captain Vancouver Exploring Burrard Inlet) as well as seven by eight feet (perhaps Simon Fraser’s Canoes Descending the Fraser River).

The day after the paintings were unveiled, another article appeared in the Vancouver Daily Province on Thursday, July 7, 1927 (page 7). This Vancouver Archives photo depicting Simon Fraser is shown hanging on the wall of the store, along with the President of UBC, the artists, and onlookers (page 24). …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT I JUST FOUND! Vancouver Millionaires Hockey Cards! Here’s the goalie card for Hughie Lehman! With caricatures by Hal, these were drawn way back in 1919, 94 years ago to be exact!

I’ve got Hall of Famers Duncan “Mickey” MacKay, and allstar Fred “Cyclone” Taylor! From wikipedia:

Acknowledged as one of the first stars of hockey, Taylor was one of the most prolific scorers of his era. He won several scoring championships, and won the Stanley Cup twice, once in 1909 with Ottawa and again in 1915 with Vancouver. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. While in Ottawa in 1907, Taylor gained employment with the Canadian government. He maintained this employment after his career in hockey, later becoming Commissioner of Immigration for British Columbia and the Yukon.

Way back in 1909, Cyclone Taylor was actually the highest paid Canadian athlete – in fact, he made more money than the Canadian prime minister, a whopping $5,250! But there’s more! There are 9 cards in total in this set, and you’re probably wondering where I found them! Well, ehr, boy, I’m so excited I can barely type. You see, I found them, uhm… …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Mural commissioned for the Officer’s Mess at HMCS Discovery on Deadman’s Island in Vancouver by Robert Samuel Alexander (August 25 1916 – April 20 1974). Commissioned in 1944 while he was stationed at HMCS Discovery, the mural was completed in 1945.

There is much to study in this mural, though the physique of the sailor at the far left often attracts extra attention. The two sailors at left are caring to the cannons below the deck, and they appear to be holding a tool called a sponge used for cleaning the bore after firing. A ribbon stating “In Which We Serve” scrolls along the bottom of the mural; this phrase also happens to be the title of a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward. The film revolves around the exploits of Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, commander of the destroyer HMS Kelly when it was sunk during the Battle of Crete. The left half of the mural shows naval technology from the era of Captain Vancouver, while the right half of the mural shows modern day technology, circa WWII. It would appear that Captain Vancouver himself is reaching out to offer a hand to the modern day captain and his crew.  …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

It was an amazing burst of the historical floodgates this weekend at the Presentation House Satellite Gallery, 560 Seymour Street (correction – initially I said Belkin Satellite). The Vancouver Sun’s photo archives were put up on display in a show filled to the brim with 8×10 glossy photographs, full page newspaper covers, and ephemera. On Saturday afternoon, Kate Bird and John Mackie spoke about the history of the collection, and overflow audience sat at the edge of their seats for the entire presentation!

E J Hughes painting Britannia mine for the 1939 San Francisco Golden Gate Exposition (copy photo)

One profoundly significant recent discovery was made just before Saturday’s talk. John Mackie came upon photographs of one of the most exceptional murals ever painted in British Columbia, the murals for the BC Pavilion at the Golden Gate Exposition in 1939. A set of extraordinary photographs depicts the three artists at work with the mural, along with images of the interior of the BC Pavilion. I believe the three images you see being painted are in fact, the miniature versions of the murals that were painted for the hometown crowd, and which reside in the Royal BC Archives in Victoria. The paintings are largely completed, so the photographs appear to be somewhat ‘staged’. I am still holding out for the discovery of some colour images featuring the murals, but for 1939, that might be just fantasy!

Sadly, no one really knows what happened to the original murals, which were larger than life in size and wrapped around the entire interior of the building in 12 panels. Considering they were the work of 3 accomplished war artists who all went on to critical acclaim, I think it’s safe to say the mural would have been worth millions. The Golden Gate Expo made a comeback in 1940, but BC was too preoccupied with the war effort to return, and I have not yet determined who took over the BC pavilion (hunch: it may have been Alaska). Thus, I believe the loss of this mural is one of the sad cultural casualties of war; had we not been at war, perhaps someone would have thought to bring the murals back home where they belonged.

I highly recommend a visit or two to this show; it really is overflowing with treasures and deserves repeated visits. The show runs until March 30th. Here’s John Mackie’s article in the Sun as a background to the show.

Last week I featured The Epic of Western Canada by John Innes; this week, it’s his followup series from 1930 titled From Trail to Rail; The Epic of Transportation. In the words of the brochure, this is the story of man’s achievement pushing back the frontiers of Canada in twenty-one oil paintings. Again, it was a collaboration between artist John Innes, art patron Arthur P. Denby, and the Hudson’s Bay Company where the works were exhibited. Below is a listing of the 21 paintings:

1. A Trail in the Wilderness
2. Dog Travois
3. Horse Travois
4. The Buffalo Hunt
5. The Skin Canoe
6. A Portage
7. The Company Canoe
8. Batteau Running a Chute
9. Carriers of the North
10. The Pack Trail
11. Dog Trains
12. Red River Carts  
13. Prairie Schooners  
14. The Bull Train  
15. The Buckboard 
16. The Stage Coach 
17. The River Steamers  
18. The Trail of Destiny  
19. The Challenge
20. The Battle of the Rocks
21. Triumph

Fortunately, I don’t need to track down any lost paintings because I have confirmed all of these paintings became property of the Glenbow Foundation in Calgary. They are not on public display at the moment, but I have acquired an image from the series exclusively for your benefit.

John Innes, “Triumph”, no date, oil on canvas, Collection of Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada, 60.71.21

I’ve chosen to show the very last painting in the series called Triumph, featuring a steam locomotive headed straight for the artist! Actually, I can attest, this was not John Innes’ last painting, but it was the end of his collaboration with Arthur P. Denby. It’s unclear exactly what their arrangement amounted to, and even less clear how things fell apart, but John Cowan briefly describes things in his book John Innes: Painter of the Canadian West:

Unfortunately misunderstandings and disagreements arose, for which neither the artist nor patron was wholly to blame, and an alliance that had accomplished much good was ended. The truth is, Innes had driven himself for some years beyond his strength and was worn out. Denby, eager to see these prodigious feats of creative work completed in the artist’s years of vigor, had perhaps urged too great effort.

Cowan mentions that Innes had covered the topic of transportation earlier in his career. While working in New York, Innes drew a series of pictures that were purchased by a Philadelphia publisher and released as colour postcards. Apparently it was a huge hit with millions of cards sold. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>