Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"VARIED LIGHTS"

Date

1958

Materials

OIL ON BOARD

No. Pieces

1

Height

2

Length

91

Width

43.5

Description

FRAMED OIL ON BOARD LANDSCAPE PAINTING. PAINTING DEPICTING DOWNTOWN LETHBRIDGE FACING SW FROM THE CORNER OF 10TH ST AND 3RD AVE. WORK IS DARK IN COLOUR WITH BRIGHT YLLW FEATURED IN THE SKY. TWO CARS ONE GRN AND ONE RD ARE DISPLAYED IN THE FOREGROUND. WORK IS SIGNED "P.J." ON THE INSIDE OF ENLARGED "C", "59". REVERSE SIDE IS MARKED WITH ARTIST NAME, DATE AND TITLE. A PAPER LABEL IS ATTACHED TO BACK WHICH DESCRIBES HOW THE ARTIST CREATED HIS CITY SCENE. LABEL TEXT READS " THIS EFFECT WAS OBTAINED BY PLACING CLOSER TOGETHER THE BUILDINGS...FROM MY WINDOW LATE ONE EVENING." THE BOARD SURFACE IS REVERSED, PAINT IS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BOARD VERSUS THE NORMAL SIDE.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

THE PAINTING WAS A GIFT BY P.J. COLLINS, THE ARTIST, TO ALEX SNOWDON, THE DONOR’S FATHER. SNOWDON OWNED AND OPERATED A PETROLEUM DISTRIBUTION BUSINESS FROM A GARAGE-TYPE FACILITY LOCATED ON 9TH STREET BETWEEN 3RD AND 4TH AVENUES. IN ADDITION TO LIVING IN THE VICINITY OF THE GARAGE, COLLINS WAS A TEACHER AT LCI WHERE SNOWDON ATTENDED SCHOOL. THE TWO NEW EACH OTHER WELL AND THE GIFT WAS WELL APPRECIATED BY SNOWDON. HE HUNG IT IN HOME UNTIL HIS PASSING. THE PAINTING REFLECTS THE BUSINESS FRONT OF SNOWDON’S ‘SEVENTY-SEVEN OIL COMPANY’ WHICH, WAS LOCATED NEXT TO ENERSON MOTORS ON THE NW CORNER OF 9TH STREET AND 4TH AVENUE. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE WORK WAS PAINTED FROM THE ARTIST’S APARTMENT WINDOW IN THE VICTORIA MANSION. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. SHE COMPILED THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON P.J. COLLINS FROM RECORD P20120016001: THE ARTIST, PHILIP JEROME COLLINS, WAS BORN NEAR LONDON, ENGLAND ON AUGUST 14, 1884. HE WAS THE SON OF CHARLES JEROME COLLINS, WHO WAS ALSO AN ARTIST. THERE WERE TEN CHILDREN IN COLLINS FAMILY, NINE BOYS AND ONE GIRL. COLLINS IMMIGRATED WITH HIS BROTHER TO CANADA IN 1911 AT THE AGE OF 27. HE WAS A SCHOOL TEACHER FOR 30 YEARS, BEGINNING HIS CAREER IN 1919 IN RURAL SCHOOLS, AND LATER TEACHING AT CENTRAL WESTMINSTER SCHOOLS. COLLINS WAS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB ALONG WITH ARTIST ANNABELLE MCKENZIE, DORA TREW AND JESSIE URSENBACH. COLLINS ATTENDED THE FIRST SKETCH CLUB MEETING THAT WAS HELD ON OCTOBER 7, 1932, AT THE HOME OF MCKENZIE, AND WAS APPOINTED SECRETARY OF THE CLUB. UPON HIS RETIREMENT FROM TEACHING IN JUNE 1949, HE BEGAN PRODUCING PAINTINGS AT THE RATE OF 8 TO 10 PER A YEAR. HIS MEDIUM OF CHOICE WAS OIL ON MASONITE. IN 1966 HE HAD A ONE MAN SHOW AT BOWMAN ARTS CENTRE. COLLINS PASSED AWAY IN 1975. THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB HELD THEIR FIRST MEETING AT THE HOME OF MISS ANNA MACKENZIE ON OCTOBER 7, 1936. EDITH FANNY KIRK WAS THE FIRST ART TEACHER IN LETHBRIDGE. SHE CAME FROM BRITAIN WITH CLASSICAL TRAINING AND IT WAS KIRK WHO SET THE STAGE FOR THE SKETCH CLUB TO COME INTO BEING. THE BANFF SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN THE FORMATION BY PROVIDING RECOGNITION OF ARTISTIC MERIT THROUGH DISTRICT SCHOLARSHIPS. ANNA MACKENZIE AND P.J. COLLINS CONCEIVED OF THE CLUB AFTER THEIR EXPERIENCE IN BANFF. THE GROUP WAS FORMED OUT OF AN ENTHUSIASTIC INTEREST IN ART AND SOON AFTER THE GROUP BEGAN MEETING, THERE WERE REGULAR EXHIBITIONS. THE GROUP WAS PRIVY TO THE ATTENTION OF GROUP OF SEVEN ARTIST A.Y.JACKSON WHEN HE MADE HIS FREQUENT SKETCHING TRIPS TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA. HE REGULARLY ACCOMPANIED THE SKETCH CLUB AND HIS INFLUENCE CAN BE SEEN IN MUCH OF THEIR WORK. ANOTHER GUEST OF THE GROUP WAS ANNORA BROWN WHO WAS AN ARTIST WHO HAD TRAINED IN TORONTO, BUT RESIDED IN FORT MACLEOD AND BEGAN SPENDING TIME WITH THE GROUP IN 1939. HER INTEREST IN FLOWER STUDIES IS SUSPECTED TO HAVE INSPIRED MANY OF THE WORKS BY CLUB MEMBERS. DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, THE GROUP ORGANIZED SUMMER CLASSES TAUGHT BY OUT OF TOWN ARTISTS SUCH AS: H.G.GLYDE, WALTER J. PHILIPS AND A.C. LEIGHTON. ACCORDING TO A HISTORY OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB WRITTEN BY JOAN STEBBINS IN JUNE, 1985, “THE PAINTINGS OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB PORTRAY FAVOURITE SKETCHING AREAS IN THE REGION – THE COULEES PROVIDED ENDLESS MATERIAL, THE RIVERBOTTOM, THE OLD R.C.M.P. BARRACKS, THE WHITNEY FARM, HENDERSON LAKE, THE FELGER HUTTERITE COLONY, THE FOOTHILLS AND WATERTON LAKE WERE OFTEN REPEATED SUBJECTS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE PERMANENT FILE AND ARCHIVAL DONATION.

Catalogue Number

P20070011000

Acquisition Date

2007-04

Collection

Museum

Less detail