By Hannah Griffin, Staff Contributor
The Dalhousie Art Gallery’s current exhibition Lord Dalhousie: Patron and Collector showcases for the first time the former Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia’s private collection. The ninth Earl of Dalhousie, also known as George Ramsay, wanted to convey the unique culture of Canada by commissioning various artists to produce depictions of the landscape, wilderness and people he saw during his time in Canada from 1816 to 1828. While the exhibit includes many different artists, a large portion of the works is by John Elliot Woolford, Ramsay’s primary artist for Nova Scotia subject matter.
The flashiest piece of work in the collection introduces the exhibit: a portrait of Ramsay himself by Sir John Watson. The painting sits in a detailed gold-painted frame, and shows a formally dressed Ramsay holding a scroll and looking very proud. Following this portrait are other works showing the life of Ramsay, including two less striking portraits done on watercolour over graphite.
This exhibit is especially appealing because of its exclusivity and diversity. Although many of the works have been shown at various galleries around the country, some have never been shown to the public at all. This is also the first time that the entire collection has been shown as a whole, an endeavor that took curator René Villeneuve six years to accomplish. The benefit of this is that Ramsay’s vision in building his collection to include eight points of focus that he saw as integral to Canadian identity is apparent. These include works representing Ramsay’s life, small villages in towns, impressive buildings found in Nova Scotia and Quebec, and depictions of aboriginal culture. The exhibit is effectively organized into these eight groups, giving a focused flow to the show.
This diversity in representations of Canada shows a complex picture of Canada at the time of Ramsay’s stay. The inclusion of aboriginal culture in this exhibit is impressive. It is significant because it’s presented in a number of ways and does not rely on cliché representations. Most interesting of these is John Crawford Young’s “Indian and French Canadian Market Place”, an almost cartoonish watercolour showing an aboriginal in traditional dress sitting beside a Quebecois man in the middle of a crowded marketplace. The contrast between the two cultures is accented in the detailed attention to dress.
Diversity is not limited to subject matter. The exhibit’s artistic mediums are varied as well, including sketches, watercolours, paintings and prints. Some of the works are extremely small – especially the prints – while many of the works in the landscape section are quite large. Interspersed throughout the exhibit are several display cases showing artifacts from Ramsay’s life and artistic interests. These include a collection of eight serving pieces from 1820 with Ramsay’s coat of arms, a sword presented to Ramsay by the city of Bordeaux in 1814, and a logbook documenting roads from Truro to Halifax with sketches by Woolward. Adding another layer to the exhibit is the inclusion of many quotes from Ramsay’s journals, which line the walls of the gallery. One of these expresses his wish to have Canada represented in these works so that when he returned to Scotland he could “refer to (his) sketches for the beauties of the country.”
There are many different works showing beautiful landscapes in this exhibit, and it is clear that Ramsay had a major fascination with waterfalls. There are numerous watercolours of enormous Canadian waterfalls, and these paintings are among the most colourful and large in the collection. Charles Ramus Forest’s “The Saint Anne Falls” shows the misty Quebec waterfall rushing into a deep crevice framed by vibrant fall trees.
“Lord Dalhousie: Patron and Collector” is a rare chance to see the entire private collection of a man who wanted the Canadian identity to be represented as diverse and complex. The variety of subjects and types of work in this exhibit make it a worthwhile visit.
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