I have been very neglectful in attending to my blog this year. I
took a History course this past semester at Mount Allison which involved
a major research paper based partly on archival or primary sources. I
got a bit obsessed with my subject, and everything else (and I mean
EVERYTHING) was put on the back burner. Then it was the usual end of
term stuff, moving my darling daughter into a new apartment, trying to
catch up with stuff that was neglected for four months, a visit from a
friend, graduation, and yes, a slight bit of laziness.
The
subject of my paper was John Hammond. You probably have never heard of
him, unless you are from Sackville or connected to Mount Allison
University; or you might be familiar with John Hammond as the person who
helped to establish the Owens Art Gallery, the oldest university
gallery in Canada, or from Hammond House, the current residence of the
University President. You might also know that he designed the fountain
in the Swan Pond and the gate posts in front of Convocation Hall. If
you are an afficionado of Canadian art, you might recognize Hammond as
the artist who was known for his paintings of either foggy Bay of Fundy
scenes, or majestic paintings of the Canadian Rockies.
So
for those of you who are not in the know, let me tell you a little bit
about this fascinating man. He was a prospector on the Gold Coast of
New Zealand, a member of the 1871 Geological Survey of Canada
expedition, a member of the “Ladies’ Pets” platoon during the Fenian
Raids, an adventurer who barely escaped with his life during the Boxer
Rebellion in China, and he was possibly one of the most renowned
Canadian painters of his time.
John Hammond was born in
Montreal on April 11, 1843. His father was a marble cutter, and
Hammond began working in his father’s mill when he was only 9. He also
attended school in Montreal and apprenticed with two dry goods
companies, likely in their drapery departments. In March 1866, possibly
looking for some excitement, he joined the Victoria Rifles of the
Militia in order to fight off a rumoured Fenian invasion near
Huntingdon, Quebec. The rumoured attack never materialized, and after
three weeks in the mud and rain, with no provisions, the “Ladies’ Pets”,
as they were nicknamed, returned to Montreal, less five members who
contracted pneumonia and died.
Hammond and his
brother Henry sailed to England in August 1866. From there, they
travelled to New Zealand on a clipper ship that was peopled by, as
Hammond put it, the “dregs” of London. In his memoirs, he wrote
“Bare-fisted fights and knifings as the sequels of card games were daily
and nightly occurrences. The women were almost as bad as the men. We
were shut up on that ship for four months.” Needless to say, it was an
interesting journey for the two young men, and I’m pretty sure they were
glad to eventually reach Lyttleton. They trekked overland and ended up
prospecting for gold on the Gold Coast for two years, returning home in
1868 with not much to show for their efforts except some good stories.
Hammond
was hired by William Notman in 1870, and the very next year, was
assigned to travel as a photographic assistant with Benjamin Baltzly, a
Notman photographer, as part of the first Geological Survey of Canada
expedition to British Columbia. Their mission was to survey and record
the terrain of the North Thompson and Fraser rivers, from Kamloops to
Jasper, in order to determine whether the Yellowhead Pass was a viable
route for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hammond’s journal from this
trip still exists, along with the diaries of Baltzly and Alfred Selwyn,
who was the geologist responsible for the expedition. They tell
fascinating stories of their travels and the hardships they
encountered. There were many delays and problems along the way, mostly
related to the late autumn/early winter weather and the impenetrable
forests. They were not able to reach Jasper, but did reach the Pass,
and wasted no time returning to Kamloops. When they arrived in the
middle of December, after struggling through deep snow and icy water,
they were dangerously low on provisions, had lost all of their pack
animals to starvation or injury, their canoes had been destroyed or
capsized, and they had rags tied around their feet and were suffering
from frostbite.
After this adventure, Hammond returned
to Montreal and his work with Notman. Notman was one of the most
well-known photographers in Canada. If you have ever seen the iconic
photographic portrait of Sitting Bull, it is likely the one that Notman
took. He developed cutting edge photographic techniques, including
colourizing photographs, and creating composite photographs, where
individual photographs were taken, and then painstakingly cut out and
placed on a background to create group photos, sort of the original
Photoshop collage. Hammond’s job was to paint backgrounds and colourize
photographs.
It must have been about this time that
Hammond became serious about becoming an artist, as his earliest known
paintings date from this period. As a young boy, he had declared his
intention to be an artist, and he mentions spending time sketching in
his various journals. He also married Sarah Acres in 1872. After
spending several years with Notman’s company in Montreal, Hammond was
put in charge of Notman’s new studio in Saint John, New Brunswick, and
the Hammonds relocated to Saint John. Here, Hammond encountered Sir
William Van Horne, who was to become his friend and patron, and who was
instrumental in the establishment of the transcontinental railway system
in Canada.
In 1884, Hammond left the world of Notman,
and was hired as the new principal of the soon to be opened Owens Art
Institute in Saint John. The Art Institute was created at the bequest
of a Saint John businessman, and Hammond’s first priority was to travel
to Europe and acquire as many artworks as he could for the Institute.
When the Institute ran into financial difficulties, the collection was
purchased by Mount Allison University and relocated to Sackville in
1893. Hammond followed shortly after, becoming the first art instructor
at Mount Allison, and the first head of the Fine Arts Department.
Although
he lived in Sackville for the rest of his life, Hammond continued to
travel widely. He kept a studio in Montreal until about 1906, and
travelled several times to Europe, where it is rumoured that he painted
with Whistler and the son of Millet. He received commissions from Van
Horne to paint the western mountain scenery, and his paintings were hung
in board rooms, railway stations, the Ontario Legislature, and the CP
Hotels (such as the Chateau Frontenac), among other places. His
adventures were not over either; in 1900, he travelled to the Far East
at the request of Van Horne, and recalled being in Canton at the
beginning of the Boxer Rebellion. He later wrote “The fastest I ever
ran a mile in my life, was running for my life down a narrow street in
Canton, during the Boxer rebellion, pursued by a rabble of Chinamen. I
got to my ship safely and for the next few days I was content to stay on
board and study Canton, and the Chinese, from the deck.”
In
1900, Hammond’s wife died of tuberculosis. Two years later, he married Katharine
Jeannette Stark, a music instructor at Mount Allison. They had a
daughter, Katharine, born in 1907. Hammond retired from teaching in
1919, but he continued to paint and exhibit widely. He was a member of
the Royal Canadian Academy of Art, and locally, was the honorary
president of the Sackville Art Association. Hammond was a deeply
religious man, and one biographer wrote that his paintings were a
reflection of his character: a “combination of strength, gentleness and
sincerity.” Van Horne called him one of the greatest painters in
Canada. Hammond died in Sackville in 1939; several years later, his
paintings were reportedly sold at a yard sale, and there are many homes
in Sackville which are graced by a Hammond painting or two. He
designed several houses in Sackville which are still standing, as well
as gardens, the fountain at the Swan Pond and the gates in front of
Convocation Hall.
My research project focussed on
Hammond’s earlier life, specifically, the Canadian Geological Survey
trip of 1871, but I hope to do some more research on this fascinating
man in the coming months. There are little bits and pieces of
information about him scattered across Canada, but, surprisingly, there
is no really comprehensive biography. In the meantime, if you are in
Sackville over the summer, you can visit the Owens Art Gallery and see
the collection which Hammond acquired in 1884-85 for the original Owens
Art Institute, as well as one or two classic Hammond paintings which are
on exhibit. The Canadian Gallery at the National Art Gallery in Ottawa
also had a Hammond on permanent display, although they have reorganized
their exhibit for Canada 150 celebrations, and I am not sure if it is
still there.
Hammond was probably the “first Canadian-born and
trained painter to paint and photograph the Canadian Rockies from the
mouth of the Fraser to Kamloops and so on up to the Thompson and the
Yellowhead Pass.” He is best known for his paintings of the Bay of
Fundy on one side of the country, and the Rockies on the other. This
summer, if you travel on VIA Rail from Jasper to Kamloops, you will pass
through the very same route that Hammond travelled in 1871 with the
Geological Survey. In this year celebrating the most recent 150 years
of the political entity of Canada, it somehow seems fitting to learn
about Hammond, an adventurer, teacher, and artist whose work
aesthetically ties the country together from one end to the other, just
as the railroad does.