Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

THE NARROWS, WATERTON LAKES - EDITH KIRK

Date Range From

1952

Date Range To

1952

Materials

WATERCOLOUR, WOOD,GLASS

No. Pieces

1

Height

55.7

Length

68.0

Width

3.5

Description

LANDSCAPE WATERCOLOUR, SET BEHIND GLASS IN BLONDE WOODEN FRAME WITH OFF-WHITE MATTING. DIMESIONS PROVIDED ARE OF FRAME. LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION. WATERCOLOUR FEATURES TWO PEOPLE IN FOREGROUND ON BEACH AT THE NARROWS IN WATERTON. BACKGROUND RIGHT IS MOUNTAINS, WHILE BACKGROUND LEFT IS MOSTLY CLOUDS. SIGNED BY ARTIST BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER "E.E. RIETHMAN" IN BLUE. REVERSE OF FRAME "THE NARROWS - WATERTON LAKES". METAL WIRE ON REVERSE FOR HANGING.EXCELLENT CONDITION. FRAME SHOWS SOME WEAR, ESPECIALLY ON THE CORNERS.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

THE DONOR, ALEXANDRA KNORR, ACQUIRED THIS WORK AT A GARAGE SALE, PRESUMED TO HAVE BEEN IN SOUTH LETHBRIDGE, APPROXIMATELY 3-4 YEARS AGO (APPROXIMATELY 2011-2012). KNORR HAS NO RECOLLECTION OF THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SHE PAID FOR THE WORK, AND IN FACT PURCHASED THE WORK BECAUSE SHE WANTED THE FRAME, NOT THE PAINTING ITSELF. KNORR HAS NO CONNECTION TO THE SUBJECT, TO THE ARTIST, NOR TO ANY PREVIOUS OWNERS. ACCORDING TO A LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE, PUBLISHED DECEMBER 11, 1952, RIETHMAN EXHIBITED THIS PIECE DURING THE THREE-DAY LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB ANNUAL ART EXHIBIT: "THOSE WHO ATTEND THE EXHIBITION WILL RECOGNIZE MANY SOUTHERN ALBERTA SCNESE, ESPECIALLY LANDSCAPS, AMONG SUCH PICTURES AS ... 'THE NARROWS, WATERTON' AND 'MORNING-HENDERSON LAKE' BY E. E. RIETHMAN. ... EVERY PERSON WHO ATTENDS THE EXHIBITION WILL HAVE A CHANCE AT WINNING A LANDSCAPE PAINTING BY MR. RIETHMAN, WHICH WILL BE DRAWN FOR AT THE END OF THE EXHIBIT." THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST, ERNEST EDWARD RIETHMAN, WAS DEVELOPED BY JANE EDMUNDSON IN 2014, USING A LETHBRIDGE HERALD TRIBUTE ARTICLE FROM DECEMBER 24, 1964 AND RECORD P20120030007. ERNEST RIETHMAN WAS BORN IN 1895 IN SWITZERLAND AND STUDIED ART AT AN ACADEMY IN BASIL, THEN AT THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DECORATING AND PAINTING. IN 1919 HE CAME TO CANADA AND SETTLED IN LETHBRIDGE IN 1947. A PARTNER IN THE FIRM OF RIETHMAN AND HUDSON DECORATING LTD, RIETHMAN WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB FOR MANY YEARS AND TAUGHT ART CLASSES THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA. HE PAINTED IN OILS AND WATERCOLOURS AND ONE OF HIS WORKS WAS SELECTED FOR THE CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION IN TORONTO, LATER TRAVELLING TO MUNICH AND OTHER EUROPEAN VENUES. RIETHMAN PASSED AWAY SUDDENLY ON DECEMBER 23, 1964. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR A HARDCOPY OF THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE AND FOR AN EXHIBIT CATALOGUE FROM A RIETHMAN SHOW INSTALLED AT THE SOUTHERN ALBERTA ART GALLERY IN 1987. 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 PREVIOUS DONATIONS OF RIETHMAN’S WORK, SEE P19705197000 AND P20120030007. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE. UPDATE: ON 24 OCTOBER 2019, ERNEST E. RIETHMAN’S GRANDDAUGHTER LINDA BAINES SHARED A “PERSONAL RECORD” WITH MUSEUM STAFF. THE LATTER DAY SAINT DOCUMENT WAS COMPLETED BY HER GRANDMOTHER CLARA S. RIETHMAN--ERNEST’S WIFE. IT IS A HANDWRITTEN CHRONOLOGY OF CLARA’S LIFE IN SWITZERLAND AND ALBERTA. PERSONAL INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE DOCUMENT EXTENDS TO ERNEST’S LIFE . TO SEE THIS RECORD, PLEASE SEE P19705197000’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20150024000

Acquisition Date

2015-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail