Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

H.G. LONG PORTRAIT

Date

1957

Materials

CANVAS, OIL PAINT

No. Pieces

1

Length

61.0

Width

50.9

Description

OIL ON CANVAS. HEAD AND SHOULDERS FULL-FACE PORTRAIT OF HAROLD G. LONG. ARTIST IN LOWER LEFT CORNER "DON FRACHE...'57". OIL PAINTING ON STRETCHED CANVAS. UNFRAMED.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

"H.G. LONG IN LETHBRIDGE, 1946-WITH LETHBRIDGE HERALD-1911 TO PRESENT 1964, BORN IN 1888 IN HURON COUNTY, ONTARIO". AN EDITOR OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. REFER TO P19640665000-GA FOR GIFT CERTIFICATE. *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 SUBJECT OF THIS PORTRAIT, HAROLD GORDON LONG, WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM GALT ARCHIVES RECORD 20001076289 AND A TRIBUTE ARTICLE FROM THE NOVEMBER 5, 1965 ISSUE OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. HAROLD GORDON LONG WAS BORN IN HURON COUNTY, ONTARIO, THE SIXTH OF EIGHT SONS. AFTER GRADUATION FROM GODERICH COLLEGE INSTITUTE IN 1905, HE CAME WEST AND ENROLLED IN REGINA NORMAL SCHOOL TO TRAIN AS A TEACHER. ARRIVING IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA, LONG TAUGHT FIRST AT WOOLFORD SCHOOL BEFORE TAKING POSITIONS WITH THE BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY AND ALBERTA GOVERNMENT TELEPHONES. ON MARCH 11, 1911 LONG ACCEPTED A JOB AS A REPORTER WITH THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. DURING HIS CAREER OF MORE THAN 50 YEARS WITH THE HERALD, LONG ROSE FROM REPORTER TO NEWS EDITOR, MANAGING EDITOR, GENERAL MANAGER, PUBLISHER, VICE-PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. AMONG HIS NUMEROUS AWARDS, LONG WAS MADE AN HONOURARY LIFE MEMBER OF THE ALBERTA WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION, LETHBRIDGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF CANADA. WHEN HE DIED ON NOVEMBER 4, 1965, HAROLD LONG LEFT BEHIND HIS WIFE MARIE HAYDEN LONG AND HIS BROTHER DR. BENSON LONG OF RED DEER. MARIE LONG DIED ON NOVEMBER 20, 1981, AND IS BURIED BESIDE HER HUSBAND IN MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY IN LETHBRIDGE. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR HARDCOPY OF LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE.

Catalogue Number

P19739502000

Acquisition Date

1964-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail