Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PORTRAIT, WILLIAM ALDOUS

Date Range From

1954

Date Range To

1954

Materials

PAPER, CHARCOAL

No. Pieces

1

Length

35.6

Width

24.9

Description

CHARCOAL DRAWING OF A MAN SMOKING A PIPE, RIGHT PROFILE, ON BEIGE, TEXTURED PAPER. PROFILE DRAWING FOCUSES ON THE HEAD, ONLY IMPLYING SHOULDERS AND SHIRT COLLAR. UNDER THE DRAWING, LEFT SIDE, IS THE SIGNATURE “EER”. ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE PAPER, WRITTEN UP AT THE TOP IN BLUE PEN, “TO W. ALDOUS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MANY MORE, E E RIETHMAN”. PAPER IS SLIGHTLY WARPED, WITH MINUTE WAVES OVER SURFACE. SMALL BLUE MARK IN EMPTY SPACE BESIDE THE FOREHEAD. BACKSIDE OF PAPER HAS TAPE MARKS ALONG EDGES, SHOWING LIGHTER PATCHES OF PAPER WHERE TOP LAYER IS TORN AWAY.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

ON JUNE 10, 2020, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED DARLENE ALDOUS REGARDING HER DONATION OF A REITHMAN SKETCH AND A CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY CAN OF WATER. ON HER ACQUISITION OF THE REITHMAN SKETCH, DARLENE EXPLAINED, “IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE AND [THE PORTRAIT'S SUBJECT] WAS MY HUSBAND’S GRANDFATHER. ...I HAVE HAD IT PROBABLY ABOUT TEN OR FIFTEEN YEARS…[BETTY, MY MOTHER-IN-LAW] CAME AND LIVED AT OUR HOUSE FOR QUITE A WHILE. SO, SHE WAS DOWNSIZING AND STUFF AND SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH SOME STUFF. AND I REALLY LIKE THIS PICTURE SO, SHE LET ME HAVE IT, AND I HUNG IT UP IN MY HOUSE...I WAS QUITE HAPPY WITH IT.” ON WHY DARLENE DECIDED TO KEEP THE DRAWING, SHE ADDED, “I AM ATTACHED TO OLD THINGS AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS. MR. REITHMAN PUT A LOT OF EFFORT AND THOUGHT INTO THAT. AND IT IS SUCH A NICE A PICTURE OF- [MY HUSBAND] BILL’S GRANDFATHER LOOKS SO INTROSPECTIVE, AND I JUST LIKE THINGS LIKE THAT.” ON HOW HER HUSBAND’S GRANDFATHER, WILLIAM ALDOUS, GOT HIS PICTURE SKETCHED BY ERNEST REITHMAN, DARLENE STATES, “MR. REITHMAN AND MR. ALDOUS, WERE IN A SKETCH CLASS TOGETHER. THEN WHILE GRANDFATHER WAS DOING HIS SKETCHING- HE DIDN'T REALIZE IT BUT MR. REITHMAN WAS SKETCHING HIM. WHEN THEY WERE DONE, MR. REITHMAN PRESENTED THE PICTURE TO GRANDFATHER, AND IT'S BEEN IN THE FAMILY EVER SINCE.” A LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 27, 1954, DISCUSSES AN UPCOMING LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB SHOW AND AMONG THE LIST OF ARTISTS PARTICIPATING IS ERNEST REITHMAN AND WILLIAM ALDOUS. BORN IN ENGLAND IN 1884, WILLIAM GEORGE ALDOUS AND HIS WIFE EDITH LEFT FOR CANADA, ARRIVING IN CALGARY, 1913, AND COMING TO LETHBRIDGE IN THE 1920S. IN 1930 HE OPENED THE ALDOUS AGENCY AND FINANCE CO. IN LETHBRIDGE. THE COUPLE HAD THREE CHILDREN INCLUDING ROY A. ALDOUS WHO CONTINUED THE FAMILY BUSINESS IN LETHBRIDGE. EDITH PASSED IN 1970 AT 80 YEARS, AND WILLIAM PASSED IN 1971 AT 87 YEARS. BETTY MARRIED ROY ALDOUS AND HAD FOUR CHILDREN, INCLUDING WILLIAM “BILL” ALDOUS, MARRIED TO DARLENE. ROY PASSED ON APRIL 27, 1993, AT 64 YEARS, AND BETTY PASSED ON DECEMBER 12, 2015, AT THE AGE OF 85 YEARS. 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 BASEL, 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. 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.” ON OCTOBER 24, 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. FOR PREVIOUS DONATIONS OF RIETHMAN’S WORK, SEE P19705197000, P20120030007, P20150024000, P20190006002 AND P20190006003. FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20200019001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20200019001

Acquisition Date

2020-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail