Opening Reception May 7, 7 to 9 PM
Swiss Guides Room, Art Show & Sale, May 7 – June 15, 2010
Rummel Room, Showcase Exhibition, May 7 – June 22, 2010
Both an Art Show & Sale and a Showcase Exhibition celebrate the life and art of long-time Banff resident and watercolour painter Bern Smith (1928 – 2009). This prolific painter is best known for his detailed mountain and prairie landscape paintings, but he was also a very skilled portrait painter. The Art Show & Sale in the Swiss Guides Room, features works available to purchase from his legacy of painterly sketches and studio paintings. The Showcase Exhibition in the Rummel Room, features a strong cross-section of his work with pieces from private collections. This is a unique opportunity to view Bern’s work, share your favorite memories of this colourful character of a man, and perhaps add a Bern Smith original to your collection.
April 10 – June 13, 2010
Main Gallery
Opening Reception April 10, 2010 7 to 9 PM
Robert Sinclair: Dust of Days is a retrospective of Robert Sinclair’s work over the past four decades. Sinclair is a practicing Canadian artist who has exhibited professionally since 1972. He is a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts and the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. “My primary mode of expression is in watercolour and acrylic stain painting developed around the landscape and botanic themes.” A significant theme of Robert's work is The Bow Valley Series, which he started late in the fall of 1996. In Sinclair’s words, “I am engaged in the painting of a perception – the perception of the extra-ordinary in the ordinary. Of the backyard flower and of the faraway mountain...of the sun and of the moon...of that which calls my heart. This is the dance I play, and my art is the visible remnant.”
April 10 – May 4, 2010
Opening Reception April 10, 2010 7 to 9 PM
This show by Banff artist Max Elliott features 26 mixed media illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet. The illustrations celebrate activities, wildlife, and scenic attractions in the Canadian Rockies. These images were produced to illustrate a poem introducing mountain concepts to very early readers in a book to be published by Summerthought Publishing.
November 21 - May 3, 2010
Rummel Room
Every four years, the best athletes in the world match skill and endurance in a series of contests called the Olympic Winter Games. The purposes of these games are to foster the ideal of a “sound mind in a sound body” and to promote friendship among nations. Olympic athletes are the greatest ambassadors of goodwill in the world of sports.
For decades, the Bow Valley has been home to, and a training ground for, hundreds of people who have excelled at their sport and been chosen to represent Canada at the Olympic Winter Games. The athletes chosen to participate in this exhibition are only a small selection of athletes from the Bow Valley that have represented Canada. On the eve of the upcoming games in Vancouver, B.C. in February 2010, this exhibition is a tribute to all those who are the best athletes in the world.
These athletes epitomize the Olympic motto:
Citius, Altius, Fortius
Faster, Higher, Stronger
January 18 – April 7, 2010
Opening Reception February 6, 2010, 7 – 9 PM
An opportunity to purchase contemporary adventure photographs by amazingly talented photographers, this showcase features a diversity of activities, from skiing to hiking to ice climbing. These images capture the passion for and interaction with the mountains by men and women who enjoy playing and working in the Rockies.
All photographs are matted using 100% archival museum board. The photographer’s name and copyright are included on the back of each print. These prints are NOT framed, but are ready for framing. The prints are produced by the Whyte Museum from the original transparency, negative, or digital capture. Except for the original silver gelatin photographs included, all prints are printed digitally on an Epson 4800 printer using archival ILFORD Galerie Gold Fibre Silk inkjet photo paper.
All proceeds from the sale of these works will support the artists, and the Whyte Museum’s exhibitions and programming.
February 6 – April 4, 2010
Main Gallery
Opening Reception February 6, 2010, 7 – 9 PM
Shaped like a broken arrowhead pointing southwest, Alberta’s Blood Reserve was created in 1877. The reserve is Canada’s largest, home to some 9,000 people. Those who live there call themselves Kainai which means “many chiefs,” a reference to the clan system once used by the tribe. Early traders called them the Blood in reference to the richly-coloured red markings the people used on their faces during spiritual ceremonies.
Since 1992 George Webber has made photographs on the reserve, journeying “from the land of the dog to the land of the wolf.” Ritual, celebration, and the hard facts of everyday life are the themes Webber explores in his intimate photographs of darkness and hope.
February 6 – April 4, 2010
Main Gallery
Opening Reception February 6, 2010, 7 – 9 PM
After spending 25 years exploring traditional large format photography and alternative printmaking techniques, including Gum Bichromate, Cyanotype, and Platinum, Bill has chosen digital acquisition and printing to realize this body of new work.
The force behind creating these images was born out of a desire to harmonize elements often avoided in the search for a perfect, or untroubled brand of beauty, and from Bill’s growing interest in abstract expressionism. To consider these themes, and with aesthetics being a primary concern, it was often necessary to re-establish spatial, tonal, and color relationships, by treating each important element separately. Once reconstructed, the paradoxes of, for example, near and far, the manufactured and the organic, the transient and the immutable, combined to create a new context and, hopefully, a heightened sense of place. Now, a no wake sign or counterbalance may flit between their figurative roots and non-objectivity; and a scoreboard’s scrawled message can better harmonize with nature’s.
February 6 – April 4, 2010
Main Gallery
Opening Reception February 6, 2010, 7 – 9 PM
Over the past 13 years more than 500 students have participated in Through the Lens, an exciting program and exhibition for local and international students. It immerses them in the creative process of photography, and encourages them to experiment and learn about themselves, their community, and the exciting medium of visual communication.
In 2009, Erin Wallace, photographer and Through the Lens alumni, worked with students while travelling in Novovolynsk, Ukraine. Selections of these photographs will be included together with photographs taken by students from Banff Community High School, Canmore Collegiate High School, and Morley Community School.
This Whyte Museum outreach program continues to expand the influence of photography and the creative experience.
November 21 – January 31, 2010
Main Gallery
Opening Reception November 21, 7 – 9 PM
Winter is a way of life in the Canadian Rockies, where we can usually rely on seeing at least some snow for 10 months of the year. Because it is so omnipresent, people who live in the mountains celebrate winter. This exhibition is part of that celebration.
The exhibition features 14 new watercolour works by Takao Tanabe. These images capture the feel of winter in the Canadian Rockies. Tanabe spent several winters teaching at The Banff Centre in the 1970s and 80s. It was a later artists’ residency there, funded by a Fleck Fellowship, that inspired these winter artworks. As a response to this selection, we have included watercolour paintings and prints by other artists from the Whyte Museum’s collection, who have also celebrated winter in their work.
Skiing is a different kind of winter celebration. Skoki Lodge was one of the earliest backcountry lodges that provided access to great ski slopes before ski lifts were invented. From 1931 to 1933, Peter and Catharine Whyte ran Skoki Lodge and documented winter there in their paintings. A selection of these works, and a few wooden skis, add another dash of both winter and whimsy to the exhibition.
Christmas is a major celebration for many people who live here because we can always rely on a white Christmas. At one time, everyone sent Christmas cards and Peter and Catharine Whyte were no exception. Their cards were original artworks by both Peter and Catharine, and their Christmas letters added an annual glimpse into their lives here. In return, they received artworks from other artists, such as the legendary Jimmy Simpson. The tradition of creating art cards continued with other Banff artists like Mary Andrews, who contributed a beautiful collection of Christmas cards sent to her by her students. The compilation of Christmas cards in this exhibition reminds us of an art form that may die with the growth of electronic correspondence.
Whyte Winter Wonderland, featuring Mountains in Winter by Takao Tanabe, is an eclectic celebration of winter in the Canadian Rockies.
November 14, 2009 – January 13, 2010
Opening Reception November 14, 2009, 1 – 4 PM
Good things come in small packages! The Museum Shop will host three companion shows as part of our Whyte Winter Wonderland exhibition. You’ll find unique gifts to purchase for the holiday season with choices from this special art show and sale. Choose from individual works of art, created especially for “art by the square foot,” or a selection of hand-crafted artisan-made gift items for your special someone. Vote on submissions for our new one-of-a-kind holiday greeting card competition. Both the People’s Choice and Staff Choice winners will be added to next year’s collection of holiday cards.
April 26, 2008 - November 20, 2009
Heritage Gallery
Through their strength of character and extraordinary lives, the Luxton and McDougall families helped bring the small mountain community of Banff and the Bow Valley to the world. At the same time, they brought the world to Banff. This exhibition is a tribute to the spirit, vision, commitment and creative energy of one of the early pioneer families in Banff and the Bow Valley.
With a keen sense that he was creating history, Norman Luxton, adventurer, entrepreneur and Banff booster, amassed his family’s history. His daughter, Eleanor, historian, scholar and educator, became the chronicler and preserver of the family’s history, as well as the human and natural heritage of this region.
This is their story. It is truly the stuff of legend.
September 10 – November 10, 2009
Due to the popularity of our recent exhibition of Robert Bateman original paintings, the Museum Shop will host a selection of Bateman’s original lithographs and limited editions prints for sale and on display in the Museum Shop, and the Swiss Guides Room. You’ll find a treasure trove of popular Bateman images and a broad variety of subject matter by one of Canada’s master artists.
September 12 – November 15, 2009
Opening Reception September 12, 2009, 7 – 9 PM
Rummel Room
We are pleased to partner with the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives, Parks Canada, the Town of Banff, and the Warden’s Alumni in celebrating the proud history of the Warden Service during the year of its 100th anniversary.This exhibition tells the story of the warden service during the time when each park was divided into districts, each with a warden headquarters in the form of a simple log cabin. Cabins, horses, packsaddles, and a life of isolation, exemplified the warden experience during that era. We have added the story of the Warden’s climbing expedition which was part of the celebration for the 1985 centennial of the establishment of Canada’s national park system. The exhibition also emphasizes the essential supporting role of Wardens’ families. In addition, we retell the story of Windy Lodge – No. 3 Warden Patrol Cabin, situated on the Museum’s riverside grounds, one of the first one-room warden patrol cabins.
September 12 – November 11, 2009
Opening Reception September 12, 2009 7 – 9 PM
Main Gallery
The ephemeral nature of ice has always fascinated Jan Kabatoff, and in light of her concerns about global warming and what it means to the future of the planet’s fresh water supply, her research has turned to the glacier. Since 2005, she has trekked to seven different glaciers on three continents – being in the presence of immense bodies of -living’ ice – moving, shifting, growing, melting, and receding. She has heard and recorded the sound of glaciers -speaking’ – in the murmuring of surface water, the roaring of water in mill wells, the booming sound of ice calving into lakes. This multi-media installation utilizes painting, mould impressions, hand-dyed textiles, photography, and an audio symphony of global glacial voices, to create a palpable sensory experience.
July 31 – September 8, 2009
Whyte Museum Shop and Swiss Guides Room
Opening Reception Friday, July 31, 1 – 4 PM
Nature provides many glimpses of beauty and grandeur – if we are lucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time. Photographers know this well. A cloud passes overhead, the wind comes up, the subject moves, and the moment is gone. Come see the work of a variety of photographers who have mastered the right moment. The click of their shutter has captured stunning fleeting moments for eternity – a raindrop reflecting the forest around it, a wispy thread of cloud painting the Brule Range, a butterfly alighting on a spring blossom.
Photographers include:
Roy Andersen, Banff
Conrad Habing, Canmore
Brian Johnstone, Banff
Pierre Lemire, Field, B.C.
Mike Montana, St. Albert
Roberta Murray, Rocky Mountain House
Tammy Leigh Saunders, St. Albert
Leon Strembitsky, Wetaskiwin
All proceeds from the sale of these works will support the artists, and the Whyte Museum’s exhibitions and programming.
July 6 – September 7, 2009
Main Gallery
One hundred years ago a discovery was made near Field, B.C. that drastically changed our view of the history of life on Earth. A Fossil Paradise: The Discovery of the Burgess Shale by Charles D. Walcott, is an exploration of the Burgess Shale’s early excavations. The exhibition includes vintage panoramic photos, site artifacts, and a profile of the man who made the great discovery as told by his personal field notes and letters. Considered one of the most important finds in paleontology, the Burgess Shale (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in Yoho National Park) was humankind’s first view into some of the most ancient animals to inhabit our planet over 500 million years ago. Charles D. Walcott was Fourth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution when he discovered the Burgess Shale. He visited the site regularly until at age 74, he had collected over 65,000 specimens. This touring exhibition includes objects from the Smithsonian Institution, the Royal Ontario Museum (which holds the world’s largest collection of Burgess Shale specimens), and Parks Canada.
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The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is especially grateful to Parks Canada for their support in bringing this exhibition to Banff. For more information about Parks Canada and the Burgess Shale,
visit The Burgess Shale
May 2 - September 7, 2009
THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN is coming to the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies! This is your opportunity to see a collection of his work covering the breadth of his awe-inspiring career.
Recognized by peers world-wide as the most influential wildlife painter of his time, Robert Bateman is an artist whose work encompasses many subjects ranging from architecture, the human figure, land and waterscapes, modes of transportation, still lives, portraiture, jewellery and sculpture. Consequently, THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN has been created to showcase the magnificent scope and versatility of Robert Bateman.
Come and feast your eyes on nearly 50 of his signature artworks, including oils and acrylics, bronze sculpture, works on paper plus the artist’s personal sketchbooks, books and videos.
SELECTIONS FROM THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN, produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C., David J. Wagner, Ph.D. Curator/Tour Director. Exhibition tour information is available from Exhibition Tour Office, David J. Wagner, L.L.C., (414) 221-6878, davidjwagnerllc@yahoo.com, american-wildlife-art.com and robertbateman.ca
Sponsored by
June 27 – July 29, 2009
Whyte Museum Shop and Swiss Guides Room
Opening Reception Saturday, June 27, 1 – 4 PM
New works by a variety of artists, plus photographs of Mary Schäffer wildflower drawings and Annora Brown watercolours, from our collections. Come celebrate the beauty of the alpine environment surrounding the Sunshine Village area.
New works by:
Lorna Dockstader, Calgary
Patti Dyment, Canmore
Judith E. Hall, Calgary
Jannis Allan Hare, Banff
David Harrison, Calgary
R. Duane Hendricks, Calgary
Helena Knos, Canmore
Zelda Nelson, Canmore
Jean Pilch, Calgary
Elaine Tweedy, Sherwood Park
All proceeds from the sale of these works will support the artists, and the Whyte Museum’s exhibitions and programming.
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Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Featuring the Work of Erica Neumann
April 2 - June 24, 2009
Whyte Museum Shop and Swiss Guides Room
Opening Reception Saturday April 4, 2 – 4 pm, Artist in Attendance
The wildlife, landscape, and floral artwork of Erica Neumann will be featured by the Museum Shop of the Whyte Museum, and on display in the Swiss Guides Room. As a long-time resident of Canmore now residing in Okotoks, much of Erica’s work is dedicated to the Rockies and Western Canadian wildlife. Each image carries with it not only a strong tie to nature, but also a specific story about a time and place captured permanently in Erica’s painterly images. All proceeds from the sale of these works will support the artist, and the Whyte Museum’s exhibitions and programming.
February 7 – April 26, 2009
SPECIAL NOTE: As indicated, Edward Burtynsky: The Residual Landscapes is on display until April 26. To accommodate the exhibition of Through the Lens, opening on March 25, a selection of Burtynsky’s work will be relocated to half of the Main Gallery.
Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.
These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.
Edward Burtynsky is one of Canada's most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are in the collections of several major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York.
March 26 - April 26, 2009
Opening Reception: March 25, 2009, 7 to 9 pm
Kids and creativity go together no matter where they are in the world.
In the 12th year of this Museum photographic outreach program, Through the Lens, we continue to expand the influence of photography and the creative experience.
In 2008, photographers Karen McDiarmid and Dianne Bos worked with students while travelling abroad. Karen worked with Tibetan students living in exile in Dharamsala, India and Dianne with students in Papua New Guinea. A selection of their photographs will be included in this exhibition together with students from Banff Community High School, Canmore Collegiate High School, Morley Community School and Lord Beaverbrook High School, Calgary.
To date, over 450 students have participated in this program. Through the Lens encourages students to experiment and to learn about themselves, their community, and the exciting medium of visual communication through photography.
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January 29 - March 24, 2009
Sponsored by: Out There: The Active Lifestyle Community, visit www.liveoutthere.com
OUT THERE! Adventure Photography is a unique opportunity to purchase photographic prints by 50 amazingly talented local photographers. All proceeds from the sale of these works will support the artists themselves, and the Whyte Museum’s exhibitions and programming.
For over one hundred years photography has been used to document and record people’s travels and adventures in the Canadian Rockies. This exhibition of contemporary photographs shows a diversity of activities, from paragliding to hiking to ice climbing. These images capture the passion and interaction with the mountains by men and women who enjoy playing and working in the Rockies.
Photographers: Will Gadd, Sara Rainford, Pat Morrow, Barry Blanchard, Nancy Hansen, Laurie Skreslet, Sharon Wood, Tim Auger, Dan Hudson, Jerry Kobalenko, Sarah Fuller, Brad White, Richard Berry, Sue Webb, Andrew Hardingham, Robert Sandford, Barry Ferguson, Eric Kuhn, Lloyd Gallagher, David Stark, Baiba Morrow, Mark Gallup, Lynn Martel, Chic Scott, Roy Andersen, Glen Crawford, Alf Skraskins, Eddie Hunter, Pam Doyle, Bill Marsh, John Amatt, Colleen Campbell, John Gibson, Craig Douce, Pierre Lemire, DL Cameron, Glen Boles, Andrew Querner, Marc Piche, Christa-Lee Mitchell, Greg Yavorsky, Joanna Croston, Ernie Kroeger, Dianne Bos, Guy Clarkson, Vi Sandford, Michael Buckley, Nicholas Rapaich, Douglas MacLean, Gery Unterasinger
October 31, 2008 – January 27, 2009
The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is offering you an opportunity to purchase unique artwork by 14 talented Alberta artists featured in the Museum Art Show & Sale. Featured artists include; Barbara Amos, Tanya Bouchard, Kim Bruce, Catherine Hardie-Wigram, Lynne Huras, Priscilla Janes, Deanna Lavoie, Deborah Lougheed Sinclair, Gisa Mayer, Wayne Milburn, Zelda Nelson, Erica Neumann, Fonda Sparks and Liz Wiltzen.
All proceeds to support the artists and Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies exhibitions and programming.
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November 29, 2008 - January 6, 2009
Lobby Exhibition
Glitz, glory and glamour. There¹s no better way to summarize 1953 the year when Hollywood came north to Alberta¹s Bow Valley. Bigwig movie producers, directors, and actors all flocked to Canada¹s mountains to create box-office hits. Saskatchewan starring Alan Ladd and Shelley Winters, The Far Country featuring Jimmy Stewart and perhaps the most best known of them all, River of No Return starring the world¹s most famous actress Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn set tongues wagging when the Banff newspaper announced she was coming to town. Locals and tourists stood and watched the blonde bombshell shoot the movie along the Bow River. The film crew spent 50 days shooting the western in and on the banks of the icy mountain stream. During production, Marilyn sprained her ankle and bellboys at the Banff Springs Hotel would flip a coin every morning to see who would be the lucky fella to push the star around in her wheelchair. That¹s just one of the many memories of Marilyn Monroe in the Mountains.
Come to Banff and explore the stories of her visit. The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is thrilled to present this special lobby exhibition of photos, an original movie poster and more.
May 24 - October 13, 2008
Main Gallery
Many great Canadian landscape artists taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, now The Banff Centre, from the 1930s to the 1980s. From A. Y. Jackson to Takao Tanabe, all of the artists who taught here were inspired by the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains of Alberta. They, in turn, inspired the work of their students, contemporaries and followers. This exhibition presents the work of artists who taught landscape art in Banff, beginning with a member of the Group of Seven and culminating with Takao Tanabe, but also including examples from other long-serving instructors such as A. C. Leighton, Walter J. Phillips and H. G. Glyde. Some came only briefly, but others spent a major part of their careers at the Banff School of Fine Arts.
At one end of the spectrum was A. Y. Jackson, who spent many seasons teaching in Banff in the 1940s, capturing the spirit of the prairies and mountains a like. At the other end, was Takao Tanabe who turned to the plains for his greatest inspiration, and it was during his time in Banff (1973-1980) that he embarked on his innovative series The Land.
As much as possible, works have been drawn from the collection of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, but we also thank the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Art Gallery of Alberta, The Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery, Glenbow Museum, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery of the University of British Columbia, Government House Foundation Collection and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection for their support of The Group of Seven to Takao Tanabe- Inspiring Landscape.
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