Our Founders: Peter and Catharine Whyte
September 3, 1958: The Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa Foundation is established
October 1965: The Archives of the Canadian Rockies begins, and is the start of something bigger.
December 1966: Peter Whyte passes away
June 16, 1968: The Peter Whyte Gallery opens
1970: The Foundation becomes "The Whyte Centre"
1971: The Archives takes custodianship of Alpine Club of Canada’s Library and Archives
1972: The Foundation is renamed to honor the memory of Peter Whyte
1974: The Library gains independence from the Whyte Foundation
1976 - 77: E.J. Hart becomes Director and the first Cairn published
1980: Banff Heritage Homes, a new Foundation agency is created
1983 – 1992: The Expansion Project based on Master Plan is launched
June 1993: The new wing is completed
1993 – 2003: The Whyte continues to protect and acquire Banff’s built heritage.
1998 - 2003: The Foundation’s Operations are reorganized
2004: The Foundation is re-amalgamated
2007: The Succession Plan is implemented
-¨Far from the wild peaks of the Canadian Rockies, Catharine Robb and Peter Whyte met at the Boston Museum School of Fine Art in 1927. She was a Boston debutante; he was a member of one of Banff's pioneer families. They married in 1930 and made Banff, and the Canadian Rockies, their home. A studio was built one year later where they would live and paint the grandeur of their beloved mountains.
Catharine and Peter travelled extensively and continued to paint and draw through the 50s and 60s until Peter's death in 1966. Catharine then turned her concerns to the community, travel, skiing and conservation. Their interest in culture and understanding of philanthropy ultimately led to the development of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. Catharine remained involved until her death in 1979.
The Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa Foundation, the earliest name for the present Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation, which operates the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, was registered under Part 9 of the Companies Act of Alberta.
The archival component of the Whytes’ collections began to be moved into the basement of a house they owned adjacent to their own home between Bear Street and the Bow River. Under the supervision of Maryalice H. Stewart, the Foundation's first Director, this collection formed the nucleus of what became known as the Archives of the Canadian Rockies.
Following Peter’s death, Catharine continued to work with architect Phillippe Delesalle on the unique design of the new 15,000 square foot building. It officially opened on June 16, 1968.
The Foundation took over complete operation of the Banff Library, hired Bruce Ferguson as its first Gallery Curator and contracted museum consultant Archie Key to recommend future development. The name "The Whyte Centre" was adopted to describe the overall operation.
The acquisition of the Archives was particularly significant as it is a collection that is well-used by researchers.
The size of the Board of Directors was increased from three to five, and from this point onward the Foundation ceased to distribute funds to other causes, utilizing all income for the operation of the archives, art gallery and library. E. J. (Ted) Hart became the Foundation's first Archivist, the duties previously having been handled by Mrs. Stewart in addition to those of Director.
A separate library board was established as the Whyte Foundation began to focus more on art and heritage.
In 1976, Maryalice Stewart resigned as Director and was replaced by E. J. Hart. That fall the Foundation's newsletter, The Cairn, first appeared and in 1977 it produced its first publication, Timberline Tale.
The Foundation's endowment was increased through her bequest and the remainder of the Whytes' historic and artistic collections, including their log home and the neighbouring Colonel P. A. Moore home, which had been moved to the site in 1971, were left to the Foundation. After an inventory and cataloguing of their contents, these homes were opened to the public on a limited, guided-tour basis.
The donation of the Moore home led to the creation of a new Foundation agency - Banff Heritage Homes - and Jon Whyte was appointed as the first curator.
When the library vacated its premises in October, 1984, work immediately began on one of the Foundation’s Master Plan recommendations: the renovation of the former library space for a new museological exhibition hall and collections storage area. On June 16, 1985, in conjunction with the opening of its new exhibition hall, the public name of the institution was changed to the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (legally it remained the Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation), and its three former agencies became departments named Archives, Gallery and Heritage Collection. On the same day, the official opening of Windy Cabin, outfitted by the Warden Service, took place as part of the Banff National Park centennial celebrations.
In 1984, architect Henry Hawthorn is chosen to develop expansion plans; capital fundraising is undertaken; and the first phase of the project is implemented.
Work on Phase I (13,000 square feet) began in August, 1992, and was completed in June, 1993, at a cost of $3.5 million. The new facility incorporated new art gallery exhibition space; renovated archives; heritage collection space; a new shop and front entrance foyer on the main floor; and administration, curatorial and office support areas, shipping and receiving, preparation, and storage facilities on the lower level. The official opening of the new facility took place on June 13, 1993, the 25th anniversary of the opening of the original building, with over 1000 guests in attendance.
In the early years of the new century, the Museum acquired such important buildings as the Crosby family home (Abegweit) on Bow Avenue, two homes belonging to Dorothy Boyce on St. Julien Road, the Vera Unwin (Holmes) McGinn home on Beaver Street, and Tarry-a-while, the home of famous Canadian Rockies explorer Mary Schäffer Warren, on Grizzly Street.
In the period between 1998 and 2003, the operations of the Foundation were reorganized under two separate organizations – the Museum and the Foundation – with E. J. Hart serving as Executive Director of the Foundation and Doug Leonard as Executive Director of the Museum. Mr. Leonard left the Museum in 2003.
In 2004, the Board of Directors decided to re-amalgamate the Foundation with two distinct branches – Museum and Endowments – with E. J. Hart serving as Executive Director.
In 2007, a succession plan was developed to ensure strong leadership upon E. J. Hart’s retirement. As of October 1, 2008, Michale Lang is Executive Director, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, and Graeme Nunn is Executive Director of the Whyte Foundation.
A strategic plan is completed that will guide the Whyte Museum for the next 5 or more years. As part of this strategic planning process, a new mission statement is approved by the Board of Directors.
