Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PAINTING, "CHINA TOWN"

Date Range From

1994

Date Range To

1995

Materials

WOOD, CANVAS

No. Pieces

1

Length

99

Width

88

Description

FRAMED ACRYLIC ON CANVAS DEPICTING FRONT OF CHINESE FREE MASONS' BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN LETHBRIDGE CHINATOWN. DOMINANT USE OF ORANGE, RED AND BLUE. YELLOW SKY. PARKING SIGN IN FRONT. SIGNED LOWER RIGHT CORNER "R. WEBB". UNDATED.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

MUSEUM PURCHASED FOR $720 AT AUCTION BY MUSEUM DIRECTOR/ CURATOR WILMA WOOD ON BEHALF OF CITY'S ARTS ACQUISITION PROGRAM. WORK WAS PART OF BOWMAN'S 2001 "DOWNTOWN LETHBRIDGE" EXHIBITION. WORK PAINTED BY LOCAL ARTIST ROBERT WEBB. WEBB RECEIVED HIS BFA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE IN 1973 AND A DIPLOMA IN FINE ARTS FROM ALBERTA SCHOOL OF ART IN 1968. HE HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN EXHIBITING HIS WORKS IN LETHBRIDGE OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE REFER TO HARDCOPY. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STRUCTURE DEPICTED IN THIS PAINTING, THE CHINESE FREEMASONS' BUILDING, WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM THE BROCHURE 'LETHBRIDGE HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR' (PRODUCED AND PUBLISHED BY THE GALT MUSEUM, 2000) AND THE PLAQUE ON THE BUILDING DESIGNATING ITS SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL STATUS (DEDICATED IN 2010 BY THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE AND THE LETHBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY). THE CHEE KUNG TONG, OR CHINESE FREEMASONS FRATERNITY, CANADA'S OLDEST CHINESE ORGANIZATION, WAS FORMED IN BARKERVILLE, BRITISH COLUMBIA IN 1862 DURING A GOLD MINING BOOM. THE LETHBRIDGE BRANCH WAS INCORPORATED IN 1922, AND FUNDS WERE RAISED THROUGHOUT CANADA SO THE BUILDING IN LETHBRIDGE COULD BE RAISED UNDER THE TRUSTEESHIP OF JOE FONG, JUNG SHUN YEN, AND MAH SHUE. THE BUILDING WAS DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 1924 DURING THE CHINESE FREEMASONS SECOND CANADIAN CONVENTION, WHICH WAS HELD IN LETHBRIDGE. THE UPPER FLOOR OF THE BUILDING WAS USED FOR FREEMASONS' MEETINGS AND AS A CHINESE SCHOOL FOR THE CHILDREN OF LODGE MEMBERS. THE CHINESE FREEMASONS AND THE KUO MIN TANG CHINESE NATIONALIST LEAGUE (WHOSE HEADQUARTERS BUILDING WAS ACROSS THE AVENUE) FORMED THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT, YET IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSITE, SOCIETIES IN LETHBRIDGE'S CHINESE COMMUNITY BETWEEN 1905 AND 1925. A SENSE OF COMMUNITY THRIVED IN LETHBRIDGE' CHINATOWN WELL INTO THE 1930S, DESPITE THE REPEALING OF DISCRIMNATORY BYLAWS OF THE EARLY 1910S THAT HAD RESTRICTED CHINESE-OWNED BUSINESSES TO THE FIVE BLOCK AREA BETWEEN 1ST AVENUE, 4TH STREET AND 6TH AVENUE SOUTH. THROUGHOUT THE MID TO LATE 20TH CENTURY, THE POPULATION IN CHINATOWN DECLINED AND THE BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN LARGELY ABANDONED OR LEASED TO NEW BUSINESSES. THE CHINESE NATIONALIST LEAGUE BUILDING WAS DEMOLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2011. AT THE TIME OF THIS SURVEY, THE CHINESE FREEMASONS BUILDING IS STILL STANDING.

Catalogue Number

P20020027000

Acquisition Date

2002-07

Collection

Museum

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