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.
Thanks Dodie,I have travelled those western routes and am sorry I didn't know about Mr. Hammond at that time. Great research, you must have an A= on that paper, I can hear your enthusiasm!
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