War Art of Atlantic Canada pt.1 |
East Coast Depictions
by Laura BrandonArts Atlantic 49 Vol. 13, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 1994), 35-37. THIS YEAR CANADA IS CELEBRATING the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The assault, which commenced on June 6, '44, marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War. In '95, numerous events across the country will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Allies' ultimate victory. Because Canada made such an important contribution to the war effort in terms of personnel, and manufactured many of the supplies, weapons, and ships, the events of '39-'45 had an enormous impact on this side of the Atlantic, particularly in the east coast harbour cities of St. John's and Halifax. As operational headquarters, these ports were gathering places for the many convoys of men and goods sent to cross the Atlantic. Those who ventured out were subject to great danger, as U-boat activity was incessant, and these successfully penetrated as far up the St. Lawrence as Cap Chat. Indeed, torpedo ships anchored off Belle Isle. Canadian artists captured the course of the war on paper and canvas from its onset, but particularly after '43 when an official programme, the Canadian War Records, was launched. Thirty-two artists were commissioned by the Crown, and several more received commissions from the National Gallery of Canada. Others chose to enlist as ordinary servicemen, and painted and sketched in their spare time. The paintings and drawings that came out of this programme are now in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, along with examples of war art and military art from the 19th century to the present day, including the noted Canadian War Memorials of the First World War. The collection now numbers 11,000 works in a huge range of media. Because the east coast was so central to Canada's role in the war, and because so many war artists are associated with the region, it seems appropriate, in these anniversary years, to focus both on the east coast as a subject in wartime and on the contribution of Atlantic artists to the war art programme. Thirteen war artists, representing approximately one third of the commissioned artists who portrayed Canada at war, worked in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Most were attached to the Navy. Those who can be considered to have made an extensive pictorial contribution to the record of east coast operations include Harold Beament (1898-1984), Leonard Brooks (1911--), Albert Cloutier (1902-1965), Paul Goranson (1911--), Anthony Law (1916--), Donald MacKay (1906-1979), Moses Reinblatt (1917-1979), Campbell Tinning (1910--) and Tom Wood (1913--). Several others produced only a few compositions, but many of these works are of significant interest. The art produced by those artists attached to the Royal Canadian Navy predictably highlights the harbours of Halifax and St. John's. Viewing these works leaves one with a very clear picture of military life during the latter years of the war. In a majority of the images, it is the winter climate which predominates. Many artists, had they compared notes at the time, would have been amazed at how often they chose the same subjects. In scenes of Halifax harbour, for example, the same large crane is often the focal point. Harold Beament's east coast paintings are based on his experiences on convoy duty and in Newfoundland. In a number of paintings of St. John's harbour he depicts it smothered in snow and ice, emphasizing its chilly wartime bleakness. St. John's from Signal Hill (CWM 10061)*, however, is a panoramic view of the city in more clement weather, its harbour filled with shipping. Leonard Brooks' east coast subjects record, equally well, the frigid reality of Canadian operations out of Halifax and St. John's. In North and Barrington Streets (CWM 10147), naval personnel trudge uphill from Halifax harbour through the still, cold city. While Tom Wood was no more disinclined to paint Canada's east coast harbours as forbiddingly cold than his colleagues, there is, in much of his work, an emphasis on the human dimension. He also ranged further, producing scenes of Sydney, Shelburne, and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bay Bulls, Newfoundland; and the Gaspé. In German Prisoners Leaving their U-Boat, Bay Bulls, Newfoundland (CWM 10571), he takes advantage of the Germans' unshaven and drawn appearance to create a dramatic image of the captured enemy. Anthony Law became a full-time war artist after VE Day. As a serving naval officer, he had made sketches of his experiences which he was able to translate into oil paintings in peacetime. A large proportion of his east coast work also deals with the decommissioning of naval vessels. Decommissioning, Rainy Weather, Sydney, N.S. (CWM 10258) is an almost impressionistic rendition of such an event. |
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