Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PORTRAIT, SEN. W.A. BUCHANAN

Date

1954

Materials

CANVAS, OIL PAINTS

No. Pieces

1

Length

61.0

Width

50.8

Description

OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS BOARD. PORTRAIT (HEAD AND SHOULDERS, FULL FACE) OF AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN, I.E. SENATO W.A. BUCHANAN. ARTIST (LOWER LEFT CORNER). "DON FRACHE ...'54".

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

SENATOR W.A. BUCHANAN WAS EDITOR AND PUBLISHER OF LETHBRIDGE HERALD FROM A.D. 1905-1954. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHY ON ARTIST DON FRACHE WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM PERMANENT FILE P19738614000. DON FRACHE CAME TO THE LETHBRIDGE DISTRICT FROM GRAND FORKS, BRITISH COLUMBIA WITH HIS FMAILY IN 1919; IN 1922 THE FRACHE FAMILY FOUNDED THE FRACHE BROTHER’S GREENHOUSES, WHICH BECAME A PROMINENT BUSINESS IN THE AREA FOR MANY YEARS. FRACHE ATTENDED CATHOLIC CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL AND LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE IN LETHBRIDGE BEFORE HE WENT ON TO STUDY COMMERCIAL AND FINE ARTS AT THE CHOUINARD ART INSTITUTE IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. HE THEN WORKED IN NEW YORK AND TORONTO AS A FREELANCE ARTIST, WORKING FOR BUSINESSES SUCH AS BOW MAC ENGRAVERS AND PRODUCING WORK FOR THE CANADIAN HOME JOURNAL AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS. HE RETURNED TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA IN 1949. BRIEFLY IN THE EARLY 1950S HE RAN FRACHE BROTHER’S FLOWER SHOP (322 6 ST SOUTH IN LETHBRIDGE), AN OFFSHOOT OF THE FAMILY’S GREENHOUSE BUSINESS. HE LEFT TO BECOME A FULL-TIME ARTIST. FRACHE MAINTAINED ARTIST STUDIOS IN LETHBRIDGE (1951-1968) AND IN COALDALE (1969-1982). IN 1944 DON MARRIED LOUISE MCGEE AND WAS PREDECEASED BY HER IN 1968; HE MARRIED HIS SECOND WIFE CECILLE IN 1980. FRACHE CONTINUED TO LIVE IN COALDALE UNTIL HIS DEATH IN JUNE 1994. FRACHE’S OEUVRE COVERED A WIDE RANGE OF SUBJECT MATTER, ALTHOUGH HIS PRIMARY LOVE WAS LANDSCAPE AND WESTERN HISTORY. HE ALSO PAINTED A SIZEABLE NUMBER OF PORTRAITS. HE WAS PART OF AN EARLY GROUP OF ARTISTS WHO TOOK SERIOUS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRULY WESTERN BASED/ALBERTA ART PRACTICE. FRACHE’S TALENT AS A PAINTER ALLOWED HIM TO DEPICT CONTEMPORARY ALBERTA AND ALBERTANS AS WELL AS RECREATING EARLY SCENES OF SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THOSE COLLECTORS HUNGRY FOR IMAGES OF WESTERN CANADA. HIS WATERCOLOUTS AND OILS OFFER IMAGES OF THE DIVERSITY OF RANCHLAND, FARMLAND, MOUNTAINS, FOREST, AND PRAIRIE THAT MAKE UP THE WESTERN CANADIAN LANDSCAPE. HIS PALETTE DISPLAYS THE RICH EARTHY COLOURS AND WIDE RANGE OF TONAL VALUES OF THOSE ENVIRONMENTS. FRACHE WAS COMMISSIONED TO PAINT MANY MURALS IN ALBERTA. HIS ‘PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE’, COMPLETED IN 1956, WAS ORIGINALLY HOUSED AT MCCALL FIELD – THE EARLY AIRPORT IN CALGARY. THIS MURAL WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED IN ITS REMOVAL DURING A RENOVATION OF THE AIRPORT FACILITY. A REPLICA, PAINTED BY FRACHE IN THE LATE 1970S/EARLY 1980S, NOW HANGS IN THE CALGARY AIRPORT AT DEPARTURE GATE 25A. HIS SECOND MURAL WAS COMMISSIONED FOR THE AQUACOURT GOVERNMENT POOL AT RADIUM HOT SPRINGS, AND HIS ‘KOOTENAI BROWN’ MURAL IS IN THE HERITAGE CENTRE IN WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON THE PORTRAIT'S SUBJECT, SENATOR W.A. BUCHANAN, WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM THE PARLIAMENT OF CANADA WEBSITE AND A TRIBUTE ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE JULY 12, 1954 ISSUE OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. WILLIAM ASHBURY BUCHANAN WAS BORN ON JULY 2, 1876 IN FRASERVILLE, ONTARIO. FOLLOWING A JOURNALISM CAREER IN ONTARIO, HE MOVED TO ALBERTA WITH HIS WIFE, ALMA MAUDE FREEMAN, AND PURCHASED THE LETHBRIDGE WEEKLY HERALD IN 1905. IN 1907 BUCHANAN CHANGED THE PAPER INTO A DAILY, AND HELPED ESTABLISH THE WESTERN ASSOCIATED PRESS. BUCHANAN ENTERED POLITICS WHEN HE WON A SEAT IN THE ALBERTA LEGISLATURE AS A MEMBER OF THE ALBERTA LIBERAL PARTY IN 1909, AND HE SERVED AS THE FIRST HEAD LIBRARIAN ALBERTA'S NEWLY ESTABLISHED LEGISLATURE LIBRARY. IN 1911 HE WAS ELECTED TO A FEDERAL SEAT FOR THE RIDING OF MEDICINE HAT. IN 1917, AS A RESULT OF THE CONSCRIPTION CRISIS, BUCHANAN CROSSED THE FLOOR TO SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT OF SIR ROBERT LAIRD BORDEN. THAT SAME YEAR HE WAS RE-ELECTED TO THE CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS FOR THE NEW RIDING OF LETHBRIDGE AS A UNIONIST. IN 1925 BUCHANAN WAS APPOINTED TO THE CANADIAN SENATE, WHERE HE SERVED FOR 29 YEARS. THROUGHOUT HIS POLITICAL CAREER HE CONTINUED TO OWN, REPORT, AND WRITE FOR THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. SENATOR W.A. BUCHANAN DIED ON JULY 12, 1954. SEE PERMANENT FILE P19738614000 FOR HARDCOPY OF LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE.

Catalogue Number

P19739505000

Acquisition Date

1973-04

Collection

Museum

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