Volume 2, Number 2, March-April 2006

On the Trail of Nicholas Vincent

The Portrait Gallery of Canada (PGC) recently acquired a watercolour series depicting Huron diplomat Nicholas Vincent at Sotheby's auction in New York. In the following interview, the Gallery staff who made this spectacular acquisition give us their impressions of these works, which have not only artistic but historical value as well.

Watercolour depicting Nicholas Vincent, by Philip John Bainbrigge, 1840 Source

e-Newsletter: Tell us about the works just acquired by the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

Portrait Gallery of Canada: They are four watercolours painted in 1840 by Philip John Bainbrigge (1817-1881), a British soldier who was a member of what has been called the "Group of 1838," an informal association of civilian and military artists active in Quebec City circa 1835-1842.

e-News: The works have been grouped under the title "Watercolor Scenes of Canadian Indian Life in Wintertime;" and yet Bainbrigge was in fact focussing on a specific person.

PGC: Yes. The person in question is Nicholas Vincent, a Huron from Lorette (Quebec). His Huron name was Iza-wan-ho-hi, which means "he who immerses things into the water." He was a very important figure who took his battle for the territorial rights of the Quebec City Hurons all the way to the Court of King George IV in London. He was very much aware of the symbolic value of culture. Although he spoke French at Court, he made it a point of honour to speak Huron when addressing Canadian parliamentarians. He was much in demand as a speaker.

e-News: How would you rate the works from the artistic standpoint?

PGC: The interesting thing is that the subjects look natural and spontaneous. The pictures could be snapshots. The other known portraits of Nicholas Vincent depict him in much more official poses. The national portrait collection of Library and Archives Canada already has a lithograph of Nicholas Vincent, but he is not shown as naturally as in these new acquisitions.

e-News: How do you make an acquisition through an auction at Sotheby's?

PGC: We generally make telephone bids. The auctioneer calls us when the item in which we are interested is coming up. The bids increase in $500 amounts. There was another bidder interested in this particular lot. We eventually won with a bid of US$9000.

e-News: Do you know who the other bidder was?

PGC: No, that's kept confidential. Even though we only go to auction three or four times a year, it ends up being profitable. These new portraits will enrich the permanent exhibition of the Portrait Gallery of Canada, which will open its doors in December 2007.

www.portraits.gc.ca/009001-1000-e.html

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