Another Vancouver harbour scene by artist Walter J. Phillips, this time in colour, and from 1933, showing a mountainous background, cargo ship docked at grain elevator, and workers on the dock. The above watercolour sold at auction for $38,000, according to this Winnipeg auction house website (image is slightly cropped, and colours may be a bit off; the tweaked image comes from the aforementioned webpage).
Union Steamship Cardena by James Koll, 2011. 14”x20”, watercolour. Shown here entering First Narrows, the S.S. Cardena began service for the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia in 1923 and soon earned its reputation as finest in the fleet. It reliably served the coastal communities of the Inside Passage until it was retired in 1958. This original painting has sold, but a giclée print limited to a series of 75 is available from the artist.
On a related note, I’m still trying to track down where the watercolours by S P Judge have gone. Sadly, I’ve run into a bit of a dead end. I’ve spoken with Gerald Rushton’s grandson, and he does recall some steamship fine art that his grandfather may have owned, but doesn’t believe it remained with the family.
So a word to all art dealers; be on the lookout for a series of watercolours of the early Union Steamship fleet circa 1905, signed by S P Judge. They hung on the walls of the company’s boardroom, and were later acquired by Gerald Rushton, who wrote the book on Union Steamship twice. If we can’t track them down, let’s keep painting steamships! This fine example by James Koll should serve as an inspiration.
Almost Home, False Creek by James Koll in 2011. Watercolour, 10”x14”. This piece will be on display in a group show at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island from January 24 to February 5, 2012 as part of the Works on Paper exhibition.
Another unique artistic aerial view of the city, this time from DC Bucholtz. There have been a few vintage maps in the past that turn the aerial perspective on it’s head, and they’re quite refreshing to look at. The map was sponsored by CKNW, The Pop Shoppe, and The Province Newspaper, among other sponsors. It was published by Cornwall Publishing Co., and Chuck Davis was the editor. This was pre-Expo, as you can see the Expo site is simply indicated with a flag and a large circle, so I’m guessing it was drawn some time around 1983 or 1984, since the Seabus colour scheme was no longer orange in 1985. I also just noticed the map shows Cambie Bridge as the old truss swing span bridge (the new bridge was built 1984-85), so that reinforces it would most likely be circa 1983.
Souvenir Program from The Jubilee Show, a musical extravaganza held in July of 1946 for the city’s Diamond Jubilee. The artist responsible for the cover art is H. Edwards.
I found some media coverage which mentions the show in this issue of the Jewish Western Bulletin, a newspaper whose masthead bears a striking resemblance to that of Illustrated Vancouver!! Uncanny!
I also spotted a copy of this program for sale at Antiquarius books, a bookstore that was previously located in the Dominion Building in downtown Vancouver, now solely selling books on the Internet (situated in Falkland, BC). They got the date wrong though, presuming it was from the Golden Jubilee in 1936 instead of the Diamond Jubilee of 1946.
Cross-posted with additional text to VancouverIsAwesome.com
Canada Place rendering by architectural illustrator Barry Lundahl, from an Expo 86 promotional brochure. Note this was back in the days when the Seabus was still orange!
English Bay Hotel by Dave Fletcher, dated 6 November, 2011, via flickr. Dave writes:
A further sketch in the “Vancouver West-end Sketchbook”. This one is of the English Bay Hotel on the corner of Denman Street at Pendrell Street. This appears to be a 1950’s style concrete building (ugly and similar to construction to “The Residency”) … in the 12 or so years I have lived in the area, I do not recall every seeing anyone enter or exit this building (strange because it is not only a Hotel in a high tourist area but also because it has appeared to be open).
English Bay Hotel does appear to have a good number of reviews here, so I think they’re legit!
Back Alley Serenade, Point Grey, by Jack Shadbolt, 1942. From the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver Art Gallery Acquisition Fund. This painting is currently on display in the Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition An Autobiography of Our Collection until February 12, 2012. One of the 80 Artworks at 80, selected and published on September 22, 2011 by student Meghan Petersen, who writes:
“I’m into mythology and mythical creatures. This painting reminds me of the fairy and folk tales I loved as a child. I enjoy the joyful expressions of the people in the painting.”
Granville Island, a 14x20 watercolor on board by Sandrine Pelissier. I’ve featured her work here before, and earlier this year she posted this blog post inspired by my site. She has various prints available on her etsy store.
Johnny on the Spot, a postcard promoting the new location at Burrard and Davie for the city’s most distinctive dry cleaners and launderers (does anyone know; was this the corner that’s now replaced by a community garden?). Unknown artist, unknown vintage, but based on the cars in the photo, I’d say 1960!
Vancouver Short Stories, a centennial book cover illustrated by Robin Arkell and George Juhasz. The Vancouver Archives recently did a blog post on the Centennial Commission Records with a host of retro images from 86 not to be missed! I’m proud to have tracked down a growing collection of Centennial and Expo imagery that could still very easily slip through the cracks of our collective memory. Search for the tags centennial and Expo86 for a recap!
![The H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, Vancouver, a watercolour painting by Edward Goodall. Image from a printed note card. “The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, founded 1968…was designed in the 1960s by architect Gerald Hamilton to house what was then called The Centennial Museum. The planetarium was added as part of a pre-construction re-design.” [wikipedia]
As mentioned previously, Edward (Ted) Goodall “…began drawing pen and ink and pencil postcards of Vancouver Island and started the successful “Goodall’s Pencil Postcard Series.” …In the early fifties he produced a British Columbia calendar of scenes from the west coast first in pencil drawing but over the years eventually replaced them with paintings. source
This watercolour is perhaps a good example of his later work, and those who can recognize which towers grace the skyline will be able to accurately date this view’s vintage. Edward Goodall passed away in September of 1982.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq0bv1s4dY1qc7pjjo1_500.jpg)
The H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, Vancouver, a watercolour painting by Edward Goodall. Image from a printed note card. “The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, founded 1968…was designed in the 1960s by architect Gerald Hamilton to house what was then called The Centennial Museum. The planetarium was added as part of a pre-construction re-design.” [wikipedia]
As mentioned previously, Edward (Ted) Goodall “…began drawing pen and ink and pencil postcards of Vancouver Island and started the successful “Goodall’s Pencil Postcard Series.” …In the early fifties he produced a British Columbia calendar of scenes from the west coast first in pencil drawing but over the years eventually replaced them with paintings. source
This watercolour is perhaps a good example of his later work, and those who can recognize which towers grace the skyline will be able to accurately date this view’s vintage. Edward Goodall passed away in September of 1982.
Cityscape, a watercolour painting by Lori Sokoluk. She is also an Eastside Culture Crawl artist, and she has taught art classes locally since 2002 through a number of organizations including Vancouver Parks and Recreation, North Shore Artists Guild, REDSOKIL ARTS, and Art Of Life Studio/Gallery. I purchased this painting at the Harbour Light Salvation Army fundraiser at Chapel Arts in 2009.
