Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"COWBOYS RAID CHINESE CAFE 1890S" - IRENE MCCAUGHERTY

Date

1991

Materials

PAPER, WATERCOLOUR

No. Pieces

1

Height

38

Length

56

Description

“COWBOYS RAID CHINESE CAFÉ 1890’S” PAINTING, WATERCOLOUR/INK – “WHEELERVILLE SERIES” (COWBOYS RAIDING), IRENE MCCAUGHERTY, 1991. AN UNFRAMED WATERCOLOUR PAINTING WITH INK LINE DRAWING ON COTTON PAPER. THE PAINTING DEPICTS THE INTERIOR OF A CAFÉ, FOCUSING ON THE FIGURES IN THE BUILDING. CHINESE CAFÉ WORKERS WEAR WHITE AND BLACK, LEAVING THE BUILDING AND TRYING TO ESCAPE THE COWBOYS, DRESSED IN COLOUR, WHO ARE DESTROYING THE FURNITURE AND WINDOWS, AND CUTTING OFF THE HAIR OF THE CHINESE CAFÉ WORKERS. THE PAINTING IS PRIMARILY A PALE YELLOW WASH, MARKING THE FLOOR, AND A PALE BLUE WASH, MARKING THE WALL AND WINDOWS. IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER THE PAINTING IS TITLED AND SIGNED “COWBOYS RAID CHINESE CAFÉ 1890’S IRENE MCCAUGHERTY WHEELERVILLE SERIES 1991” IN BLACK INK. THE PAPER IS FACTORY CUT, WITH TWO DECKLE EDGES, AND WATER MARKED “C.M. FABRIANO – 100/100 COTTON” AT THE RIGHT EDGE, NEAR THE TOP RIGHT CORNER. THE LEFT EDGE BEARS PARTIAL WATERMARKS AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM CORNERS. THE PAPER IS SLIGHTLY WARPED, LIFTING AT EDGES AND CORNERS RATHER THAN LYING FLAT.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

A COLLECTION OF EIGHT WATERCOLOURS BY IRENE MCCAUGHERTY WERE DONATED TO THE GALT MUSEUM BY HER SON, RONNIE MCCAUGHERTY. EARLY ACQUISITION RECORDS OF MCCAUGHERTY’S WORK DISPLAY THE FOLLOWING ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: “IRENE MCCAUGHERTY WAS AN ARTIST, POET, AND WRITER. SHE WAS BORN IN HARDIEVILLE ON NOVEMBER 27, 1914. SHE LIVED IN FORT MACLEOD, ALBERTA MOST OF HER LIFE. IT WAS THERE THAT MCCAUGHERTY PAINTED AND WROTE ABOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA’S PIONEER DAYS. SHE PUBLISHED THREE BOOKS WITH HER POETRY, STORIES, AND PAINTINGS THAT ILLUSTRATE LETHBRIDGE’S PAST THROUGH HER MEMORIES. MANY RURAL NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED HER WRITING REGULARLY. IN 1994, SHE WAS WELCOMED AS AN HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ALBERTA SOCIETY OF ARTISTS. IN 1995, THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE PRESENTED MCCAUGHERTY WITH AN HONORARY DOCTOR OF LAWS DEGREE FOR HER WORK TO PRESERVE THE HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA. SHE WORKED WITH ALL THREE ARTS FROM 1950 UNTIL THE END OF HER LIFE, IN 1996.” FOR THIS PARTICULAR ACQUISITION OF WORKS, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST’S SON, RONNIE MCCAUGHERTY. THIS INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE AT THE MUSEUM ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2017. INFORMATION FROM THAT INTERVIEW FOLLOWS BELOW: “I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY PAINTINGS MY MOTHER HAD DONE,” MCCAUGHERTY BEGAN, “BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY WE FORMED A COMPANY. THAT CUT DOWN ON A LOT OF PROBLEMS AS FAR AS KEEPING THE ARTWORK AROUND AND ONE OF HER WISHES [FOR THE COMPANY] WAS TO START DONATING IT…[I’M DISPERSING THE COLLECTION NOW, BECAUSE] I DON’T REALLY HAVE GOOD STORAGE SPACE, BECAUSE WE DOWNSIZED. WHEN WE WERE IN COALDALE, I HAD THEM STORED IN THOSE BIG METAL CABINETS. WHEN ANYONE WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING YOU HAD TO FISH THROUGH THE WHOLE THING.” “[MY MOM PAINTED] EVERY DAY… [PAINTING IS] WHAT GOT HER UP EVERY DAY… SHE DIDN’T START PAINTING UNTIL LATER ON IN LIFE. AND IT WAS THERAPY, BECAUSE BETWEEN HER AND MY DAD, THERE WASN’T A GREAT DEAL OF GOOD FEELINGS,” MCCAUGHERTY CONTINUED, EXPLAINING HOW OFTEN HIS MOTHER PRACTICED HER ART, “[THERE IS A LARGE] NUMBER OF PICTURES THAT SHE DREW THAT HAVEN’T BEEN PAINTED. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY HUNDRED PICTURES THAT I’VE DONATED TO DIFFERENT KIND OF PLACES. IT’S A LOT… SHE HAD HER SCHEDULE [TO WORK ON HER ART], WHERE SHE WOULD BE AT IT FOR SO LONG… [THE SUBJECT MATTER SHE FOCUSED ON IN HER PAINTINGS,] KIND OF WENT IN CYCLES. SHE STARTED DOING THOSE EXTRA LARGE ONES OF DANCING. PEOPLE ARE NOW STARTING TO LIKE THOSE. I QUESTIONED WHEN SHE DID THOSE, BECAUSE SHE WOULD PRINT ON THERE WHAT THE SONG WAS AND IN A WAY THIS MADE A COMIC OUT OF IT, BUT IT DID TELL THE STORY. ALL THE NAMES CHANGED [DEPENDING] ON WHAT SCHOOL IT WAS [SET IN, BUT] AS FAR AS THE SUBJECT MATTER, IT WAS THE SAME… IN HER TIME [DANCING] WAS THE BIG THING, THE WEEKEND DANCE AT THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. I REMEMBER THAT TOO: GOING TO THE COUNTRY DANCES; THE BANJO OUT OF TUNE, BUT PLAYING IT; SOMEBODY POUNDED ON THE PIANO; KIDS BEING ON THE DESKS, SLEEPING. IT WAS JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF LIFE. NOW THE WAY THAT LIFE HAS CHANGED OVER NOT THAT MANY YEARS, IT’S HARD TO KEEP UP.” “[MY MOTHER] DID SO MANY PAINTINGS. IT’S INTERESTING HOW MANY WERE CALLED UNDER THE SAME NAME. PEOPLE SAY, ‘OH, I’VE SEEN THAT ONE,’ BUT [THEY] HAVEN’T, IT’S SOMETHING DIFFERENT,” MCCAUGHERTY STATED, “SHE TOOK PICTURES AND [FROM THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS] SHE’D HAVE AN IDEA OF A PAINTING AND A WAY SHE’D GO.” THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS WORK COULD BE ALLUDING TO A REAL EVENT, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN LETHBRIDGE ON CHRISTMAS DAY 1907. ACCORDING TO THE LOCAL HISTORY BOOK, “LETHBRIDGE: A CENTENNIAL HISTORY,” BY ALEX JOHNSTON AND ANDY DEN OTTER (PUBLISHED 1983), A PATRON TO THE COLUMBIA RESTAURANT NAMED HARRY SMITH “QUARRELED WITH A CHINESE WAITER… THE WAITER, GREATLY PROVOKED, ATTACKED SMITH WITH A HAMMER. ALTHOUGH POLICE MANAGED TO END THE MATTER BEFORE ANYONE WAS HURT, THE RUMOR THAT SMITH HAD BEEN KILLED SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE. A MOB DESCENDED ON THE RESTAURANT AND WRECKED IT. THE RIOTERS WERE ABOUT TO VANDALIZE THE ADJOINING PROPERTY WHEN MAYOR W. S. GALBRAITH ARRIVED AND, WITH THE AID OF MOUNTED POLICE, DISPERSED THEM.” SPEAKING TO HIS MOTHER’S LEGACY, MCCAUGHERTY EXPLAINS, “THE NEW GENERATION DOESN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND [HER WORK, BUT] THE PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN IT, SURELY ARE GOING TO BUY [SOME WORKS] NOW OR END UP GETTING IT SOMEHOW. [THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN MY MOTHER’S ART] ARE GOING TO PASS ON, AS WELL.” TAKEN FROM A PREVIOUS ARTIFACT RECORD DESCRIBING MCCAUGHERTY’S WORK, IT IS STATED, “IRENE MCCAUGHERTY'S FOLK ART WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS EXPLORE SOUTHERN ALBERTA’S CULTURAL NARRATIVE AND TELL THE STORY OF WHAT THE PRAIRIE PEOPLE’S LIFE WAS LIKE DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. SHE DEPICTED IN HER PAINTINGS THE HISTORICAL PAST OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND EXAMPLES OF THE DRESS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE.” PLEASE SEE PERMANENT RECORD P20060016036 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTIST IRENE MCCAUGHERTY AND HER ARTWORK. PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT RECORD FOR THIS ARTIFACT COLLECTION (P20160031) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THIS DONATION, INCLUDING FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION FROM THE SEPTEMBER 25, 2017.

Catalogue Number

P20160031006

Acquisition Date

2016-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail