The Museum

 The first Monday in August is the Civic Holiday in Ontario, and it goes by different names regionally. In Ottawa it is Colonel By Day, a very appropriate time to come down to the Bytown Museum, which is on the shore of the Rideau Canal where the Ottawa Locks descend towards the Ottawa River.

It is also called the Commissariat, the oldest stone building in the city, dating to 1827 when it was meant as a storehouse for the building of the Canal.

On the far shore, a statue stands in the gap between trees up at the top. It is Colonel John By himself, the British military engineer who oversaw the building of the Rideau Canal.

For decades, the building has housed the Bytown Museum, which tells the story of the building of the Rideau Canal and the first century of what went from Bytown to Ottawa.

The Rideau Canal runs from Ottawa to Kingston, with a series of locks along the route enabling a full water route in places where the Rideau and Cataraqui Rivers need a bit of help in doing so. It was built between 1826-32.

It was meant as a military route, motivated by the aftermath of the War of 1812.

It was a monumental undertaking by the Colonel, who arrived to take charge, authorized to run things as he needed. Some six thousand men worked on the project. A thousand of them died in those years, some from accidents, others from disease.

Here are some of the tools of the tradesmen, labourers, and surveyors.

As mentioned, disease was a big problem, particularly malaria. The route went through swamps in some areas. Swamps were home to mosquitoes.

Morning Star

 Coming out of the temporary exhibit brings us to one level up from the Grand Hall. Looking up, I took in this view of Morning Star.

This massive mural is by the Dene artist Alex Janvier, full of Indigenous symbolism. It covers one dome high over the hall, and is my favourite work of art in the national capital region. Down below, seats are placed for the visitor to gaze up at the painting.

Here we have Spirit Of Haida Gwaii, the plaster version of the sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid. Two other versions, in bronze, reside at the Canadian embassy in Washington, and at the airport in Vancouver.

The Grand Hall is filled with totem poles and the facades of Pacific Coast houses. It is a wonderful place to spend time in the Museum of History.

Just outside in the reflecting pool sits this sculpture by Mary Anne Barkhouse. Titled 'namaxsala (To Travel In A Boat Together), it is drawn from a story told by her grandfather of providing a wolf safe passage across treacherous waters.

I spent time among the totems. While I didn't want to attend the permanent galleries on this visit, no trip to this museum is complete without a stop in here.

Laurentian Village

 Today we begin with River Thaw, by Clarence Gagnon, painted between 1908-13.

Snow, Canada was painted by James Wilson Morrice around 1905.

He also painted The End Of The Day, Beaupre, in 1897.

Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre, PQ is another Morrice painting, thought to be from 1924.

Here we have Winter, Beaupre, by Morrice, painted around 1892-1900.

Charlevoix was the region in which these works are drawn from, portraying a rural way of life that was starting to change.

The Valley In December is by Clarence Gagnon, and was painted around 1909-13.

The Red Sleigh, by Gagnon, is from 1924-25.

Here we have Laurentian Village, by Gagnon, dated to 1927.

The Yellow House is another work by Gagnon, dating to 1912-13.

Gagnon also painted Winter, Village Of Baie St. Paul, in 1909-11.

One last painting from this exhibit. The Train, Winter is by Gagnon, dating around 1914.

The Wayside Cross

 This lovely painting starts things off today. Twilight is by Clarence Gagnon, and was painted between 1909-13.

Displayed in the hall, a sled of the time, fitting, as so many of these paintings feature them.

Also displayed, top hats of the period.

Cote-de-Beaupre is a region northeast of Quebec City, and Quebec Impressionists found their way there.

The Weaver is an 1885 work by William Brymner.

Another of his works- Haying Near Quebec, Beaupre. It dates to 1907.

Early Moonrise In September is another work by Brymner, an 1899 painting.

This is The Saint-Francois Valley, Ile d'Orleans, a Brymner painting from 1903.

Clarence Gagnon painted The Wayside Cross, Autumn in 1916.