A person takes in the exhibit Canoe at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alta., on Sept. 29.Todd Korol/Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
The newest painting in the collection is by Canadian artist Jane Reeve.Todd Korol/Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Once a primary mode of transportation for Indigenous communities and fur traders, the canoe is undeniably an important part of Canadian history. Now, its icon status is being cemented with Canoe, an art exhibit devoted to the watercraft at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alta.
The show features approximately 90 works of art, spanning a 200-year time frame, all centred around the canoe.
The rare collection is privately owned by Calgary residents and avid canoeists Grit and Scott McCreath, chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan and a private wealth manager with BMO Nesbitt Burns, respectively. It was built over the past 20 years with the help of Calgary art dealer Rod Green, who was also fundamental to constructing the show, said Anne Ewen, chief curator at the Whyte Museum.
Indigenous artist Joe Talirunili's sculpture, Migration, was also made into a Canadian stamp.Todd Korol/Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Pieces on display include watercolours, oils, sculptures, prints and a couple of real canoes. There are works by key figures in Canadian art, including Frances Anne Hopkins, Cornelius Krieghoff, David Milne, Lucius O’Brien and Ken Danby.
“I grew up in a family of outdoorsman and my father paid $25 for an old cedar strip canoe. We spent the winter fixing it up, and then I paddled with my dad all over,” said Scott McCreath, explaining how his affection for the water vessel started. “Then my wife got me a Lucius O’Brien piece of art,” and the art collection grew from there.
The oldest piece is an incredibly rare 1820 watercolour by painter John Hackett. Other pieces include a soap stone carving by Indigenous artist Joe Talirunili that was featured on a Canadian stamp; folk art by Garry and Rosemary Coulter of a Mountie and a beaver in a carved, wood canoe; and an oil painting by John Fraser for the Canadian National Railway from the days of Sir William Van Horne.
Chief curator Anne Ewen put together the exhibit as a means to celebrate the canoe and its connection to Canada's environment.Todd Korol/Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
The earliest work in the collection is a watercolour by British artist John Halkett done in 1820.Todd Korol/Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail