Peaks and People

Gems Within: Animals The title of this blog post, Gems Within , is the primary theme of our Founders' Gallery here at the Whyte Museum. The purpose of this gallery is to showcase treasured objects from the Museum collection. In this post, we have selected a handful of those objects and art centred around a theme, animals.   Do you have a favourite animal? Share yours below in the comments! Stay tuned for more Gems Within  feature posts! Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869-1959, American) In the Ogilvie Rockies, 1940 C, oil on canvas, 74.5 x 100.5 cm, RuC.02.15  J. Monroe Thorington (1894-1989, American) Rocky Mountain Goat, 1970 P, charcoal on paper, 38.0 x 23.0 cm, ThM.03.05 Skull, bear, 1928-1932,  bone, 112.01.0030 Boylston Dummer Mountain Lion, Banff,  n.d., woodcut on paper, 22 x 22 cm, DuB.04.01 Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869-1927, Japanese) Untitled, n.d., woodbl...

The Path to Plein Air Painting Part I: A Peek at Pigments   Box, 1880-1939, Metal; Wood, 104.39.1003 Pigment:   A substance used for colouring or painting, especially a dry powder, which when mixed with oil, water, or another medium constitutes a paint or ink. At the Whyte we have approximately 16,000 paintings and drawings. A large percentage of these are attributed to our founders Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte. In order to understand how it was possible for Peter and Catharine to paint we must explore the materials that allowed them to paint.  Without the development of pigments, mediums, and artistic tools, artists, like Peter and Catharine would not have been able to become the artists they were.  Join us as we explore the history of that development.  The long history of pigments has been a deadly, expensive, and continuous endeavour. In the past, artists have used a variety of pigments that were sourced from animals, insect...

The Portraits of Nicholas de Grandmaison Igor and Andrei admiring Nicholas de Grandmaison's painting of his wife Sonia.  Three weeks ago author Igor Krasnov stopped at the Whyte Museum while on vacation to view the artworks of the man he'd been researching and writing about for the last decade: Nicholas de Grandmaison. What began as an interest in learning about his new home in Victoria, B.C. after emmigrating from Russia, evolved into a journey to discover the story of fellow Russian immigrant and renowned artist Nicholas de Grandmaison.  His quest began at his local library where he discovered the famous Canadian painter Emily Carr. Known for her modernist depictions of the Pacific Northwest Coast lifestyle, Carr's lack of Indigenous Peoples portrayed in her paintings surprised Krasnov. Upon further research Krasnov discovered a story in one of her books explaining why she didn't paint portraits of Indigenous Peoples. According to Carr, she once tried...

Alpine Artists is just one of the several sections in the new Gateway to the Rockies exhibition being developed by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. We want your input and feedback on this permanent (ten year life) exhibition that we are planning to open at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in the spring of 2012. Tell us what you think of this and the other concepts and stories featured here. Let us know how you think we could make this exhibition more interesting. Please keep in mind that this is a draft of the storyline, not the finished product. As the stories develop, information will be updated.  Listen to Michale Lang (Executive Director, Whyte Museum), discussing the Cave Avenue Artists exhibition: F. M. Bell-Smith, [Trestles at the Loop] (previously Kicking Horse Pass); 1890, Watercolour on paper, Collection of Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Painting the Parks The national parks, and particularly the mountain parks, have and wil...

The story of Peter and Catharine Whyte and their legacy is just one of the many stories in the new Gateway to the Rockies exhibition being developed by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. We want your input and feedback on this permanent (ten year life) exhibition that we are planning to open at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in the spring of 2012. Tell us what you think of this and the other concepts and stories featured here. Let us know how you think we could make this exhibition more interesting. Please keep in mind that this is a draft of the storyline, not the finished product. As the stories develop, information will be updated. Listen to Michale Lang (Executive Director, Whyte Museum), discussing The Shared Legacy exhibition: Peter and Catharine Whyte in from of their home in Banff, (V683-I.C.3-1(pd)), Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies From Boston to the banks of the Bow River, a life of romance, inspiration and adventure flourished bet...

We want your input and feedback on a permanent (ten year life) exhibition that we are planning to open at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in the spring of 2012. This blog reveals concepts and stories that we may include in the exhibition. Tell us what you think of those concepts and stories and let us know how you think we could make this exhibition more interesting. Tell us what you like, what you don't like, and what you find most interesting. Listen to Michale Lang (Executive Director, Whyte Museum), discussing the Gateway to the Rockies exhibition: The Gateway to the Rockies exhibition will present a brief history of the Canadian Rockies. It is designed to introduce visitors to the art, history and culture of the Canadian Rockies. Throughout the exhibition, key figures and critical moments in Rocky Mountain history will be used to shape the narrative. These individuals represent men and women from diverse ethnic, cultural, and social backgr...