BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS  

Henry (Harry) Hood

February 7 1876 - July 10 1956

Art, Historical and Scientific Association of Vancouver
B.C. Society of Fine Arts (Life Member, President 1939-1941)
B.C. Society of Fine Arts/B.C. Society of Artists: Exhibitor's Timeline
British Columbia Artist (B.C.A., 1921)
Federation of Canadian Artists (Founding Member 1941)
Vancouver Sketch Club
Vancouver Exhibition
Owner, The Art Emporium


Harry Hood was born in Cupar, Scotland. He studied drawing and design at South Kensington, London, England. He was a major contributor to the early art scene in Vancouver, and continued his support for many years - particularly after taking ownership of The Art Emporium in 1926, where he not only ran a framing and art supply business but also an art gallery.

He came to Vancouver in 1900, according to an exhibition information form on file at the Vancouver Art Gallery, although Tippett & Cole note his arrival in Vancouver as 1904 in From Desolation to Splendour. Hood had taken art training at the South Kensington School of Art, but took up the job of piano tuner upon his arrival on the coast.

He exhibited in the 1917 Annual Exhibition of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts, and also provided a painting of Weymes Bay, Scotland, by Robertson, to the loan exhibition. He had work in the Peace Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan in 1921, and the National Gallery Traveling Exhibition, 1936.

Hood exhibited with the Vancouver Exhibition in their 1924 Annual Exhibition. His painting of the C.N.R. Station was purchased by the Exhibition Association for their permanent collection. He also exhibited in the 1925 and 1932 exhibitions, representing the Vancouver Sketch Club.


Pen & ink drawing, from By Shore & Trail in Stanley Park 1929

He exhibited in the Seattle Art Museum's annual Northwest Artists exhibition in 1930.

Hood showed work in the B.C. Artists annual, summer, and Christmas exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery from their beginning in 1932 up until 1952.

He exhibited with the Royal Canadian Academy in 1930 (NGC Occasional Paper No. 7); 1935, 1938, and 1939 (McMann RCA). Also in 1938 he exhibited two paintings in the 55th Annual Spring Exhibition of the Art Association of Montreal. His address was given as 1103 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C. He also exhibited work in Montreal in 1935, 1936, 1939, and 1940.

Hood was on a list titled "Leading Vancouver Artists," provided to the Labour Arts Guild on April 10, 1946 by the Vancouver Art Gallery to assist in the Guild's call for entries to the second annual B.C. At Work exhibition. Later that year he had another solo Exhibition of Paintings at the Vancouver Art Gallery. He was 70 years old at the time.


Pen & ink drawing, from By Shore & Trail in Stanley Park 1929

He exhibited extensively with the B.C. Society of Fine Arts in their annual exhibitions, from 1917 to 1967, the later exhibitions after his death. He was represented by four paintings in the Historical Section of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts 50th Annual Exhibition in 1960, four years after his death.

Additional exhibitions:
      Island Arts and Crafts Society: 1927-1930
      Hotel Vancouver: May 1929


SOLO EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION LOCATION
1936 March 3 - 15 Solo Show Vancouver Art Gallery
1942 Jan 20 - Feb 1 Oils & Watercolours (22 pictures) Vancouver Art Gallery
1946 Nov. 5 - 24 Exhibition of Paintings Vancouver Art Gallery

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION ARTWORK
1916 Sept. ? - ? BCSFA - Annual Exhibition The Moloch of the Forest
(other titles not known)
1917 Sept. 14 - 22 BCSFA   Eleventh Exhibition Portrait
Golden Autumn
Portrait in Profile
1918 April Sketch Club    Monthly Exhibition Autumn
Evening
(watercolour)
(watercolour)
1920 September 18 - 25 BCSFA   Annual Exhibition Poplars, Lulu Island
Morning, English Bay
Meadows, Sea Island
Cattle Grazing
Summer Morning, Point Grey Rd.
Sunshine and Cloud
Elsa
1921 Sept. 19 - 24 BCSFA   13th Annual Reverie
In the Falling of the Year
The House on the Hill
Summer Morn
Industry
Bathers, White Rock
1922 Sept. 16 - 23 BCSFA   14th Annual English Bay
Beacon Hill Park
Ambleside
Hazy Morning, Eburne
Summer Foliage
1923 May 12 - 19 BCSFA   15th Annual A Backyard of Industry
Portrait Study
The Lobby, Hotel Vancouver
Adantino
Dancing Girl
Landscape
1924 May 3 - 17 BCSFA   16th Annual Canadian National Station, Vancouver B.C.
Portrait of Dr. James Patterson
A Byway of Industry
In the Chilliwack Valley
1924 Aug. 9 - 16 Vancouver Exhibition   Annual Exhibition Chilliwack Valley
A By-Way of Industry
C.N.R. Station
1925 May 9 - 16 BCSFA   17th Annual Cottonwoods, Cadboro Bay
Where the Trail Turns
Kitsilano Beach
Landscape
"Cramond Brig"
1926 May 8 - 15 BCSFA   18th Annual Clearing After Rain, Hope, B.C.
Mount of the Holy Cross
Bowen Island
1927 June 10 - 25 BCSFA   19th Annual Court House, Vancouver
West Window, Christ Church
Oak Trees, Beacon Hill Park
1929 May 18 - June 8 BCSFA   21st Annual May Morning
Grouse Mountain
Mrs. G. Hutchinson
1929 Nov. 16 - 30 BCSFA   Winter Exhibition Cricket Match, Brockton Point
Fraser River, Hope, B.C.
Mountains, Burrard Inlet
1930 May 31 - June 14 BCSFA   Spring Exhibition View of the City
Ocean Liner
Spanish Banks
1930 Aug. 6 - 16 VanExh   Oil Paintings & Water-colours Cricket Match, Brockton Point
False Creek
Hope, B.C., Fraser River
1930 Aug. 22 - Sept. 6 CNE   Small Pictures Spanish Banks, Vancouver
1932 May - July VAG   All Canadian Exhibition Vancouver Island from Sechelt
1932 Aug. 29 - Sept. 5 VanExh   Vancouver Sketch Club Exhibit On the Beach
The Idlers
1932 Oct. 5 - 30 VAG   B.C. Artists 1st Annual Portrait of a Lady
Concrete Bridge
Reflections
1933 June 3 - 11 VAG   BCSFA 23rd Annual Bill
Stephen Calder, Esq.
Off Terra Nova
Old Barn, Lulu Island
Old Tool House
1933 Sept. 22 - Oct. 15 VAG   B.C. Artists 2nd Annual Jeanette
Jervis Inlet
Tennis Fans, Stanley Park
Ranger's House
1933 Dec. 1 - 17 VAG   B.C. Artists Christmas Exhibition Lost Lagoon
1934 Sept. 21 - Oct. 14 VAG   B.C. Artists 3rd Annual Flower Study
Through the Screen Door
United Church College, University Hill
Flower Study
1934 ? - ? VAG   B.C. Artists Edmonton Exhibition Through the Screen Door
1935 Sept. 20 - Oct. 15 VAG   B.C. Artists 4th Annual Old Boats, Kitsilano Reserve
Pender St. at Broughton
Ships that pass in the day
The Flowing Tide
1935 Nov. 22 - Dec. 8 VAG   B.C. Artists Christmas Exhibition Old Boats, Kitsilano
1936 June 26 - July 12 BCSFA   26th Annual Uplands from Cadboro Bay
Still Life
Low Fuel Supply
From My Studio Window
The North Window
Portrait Sketch
1936 Sept. 18 - Oct. 11 VAG   B.C. Artists 5th Annual Hastings Street West
Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria
1936 Oct. 15 - 20 VAG   B.C. Artists Chilliwack Exhibition Hastings Street West
1937 April 16 - May 1 BCSFA   27th Annual Portrait, J.W.G. Macdonald, D.A.
Portrait Sketch
Old Timers
Still Life
View on Comox Street
Maple Trees
1937 Sept. 17 - Oct. 10 VAG   B.C. Artists 6th Annual Dracena
January Snow
1938 Mar 17 - Apr 10 AAM   55th Spring Exhibition The Red Fence
Joan
1938 April 29 - May 15 BCSFA   28th Annual Hydrangeas
In Stanley Park
Still Life
In a West End Street
The Red Fence
Still Life
Spring Blossoms
1938 Sept. 16 - Oct. 9 VAG   B.C. Artists 7th Annual Hope Mountain
Mill Yard, Vancouver, B.C.
The Back Steps
1939 June 9 - 25 BCSFA   29th Annual Yale, B.C.
Shingle Mill
Reading
Reflection
Open Window
Springtime
Old Maple Tree
1939 Sept. 15 - Oct. 8 VAG   B.C. Artists 8th Annual In A Garden Fair
Poppies
An Industrial Interlude
1940 May 17 - June 2 BCSFA   30th Annual Still Life
Roses
Shingle Mill, Vancouver
The Amber Bowl
Stanley Park Corner
1940 Sept. 20 - Oct. 13 VAG   B.C. Artists 9th Annual Old Helmcken House, Victoria
Old Spencer Home, Victoria
1941 May 10 - June 1 BCSFA   31st Annual Still Life
Still Life
M. Lucien Laclotte de L'aeronautique de France
A Window
Still Life
The Old Fence
A Back Yard, Vancouver, B.C.
1941 Sept. 26 - Oct. 19 VAG   B.C. Artists 10th Annual Betty
Still Life
St. John's Church Hall
In a West End Lane
1942 May 15 - 31 BCSFA   32nd Annual Dome Mountain, Lynn Valley
The Birth of Autumn
Waterfront
Still Life
The Twins
1942 July 7 - Sept. 2 VAG   B.C. Artists 1st Annual Summer The Red Fence
Still Life
1942 Sept. 25 - Oct. 18 VAG   B.C. Artists 11th Annual "Joan"
Roses
1942 Nov. 3 - 15 FCA   Red Cross Benefit (no information available)
1943 May 15 - June 6 BCSFA   33rd Annual Marine Building
Garage
The Golden Ears, Maple Ridge, B.C.
In Goldstream Park, Victoria
Church of Our Lord, Victoria
Old Stable
1943 July 2 - Aug. 25 VAG   B.C. Artists 2nd Annual Summer The Golden Ears, Maple Ridge B.C.
1943 Sept. 25 - Oct. 20 VAG   B.C. Artists 12th Annual Mount Tolmie, V.I.
Whiffen's Spit
1944 May 13 - June 4 BCSFA   34th Annual Elevator
Old and New
In a West End Garden
Barbara
Joan
Sooke, B.C.
1944 July 4 - Aug. 30 VAG   B.C. Artists 3rd Annual Summer Mount Tolmie, V.I.
1944 Sept. 23 - Oct. 22 VAG   B.C. Artists 13th Annual Cay (Portrait)
1945 May 18 - June 10 BCSFA   35th Annual House on the Hill
Old Cherry Tree
Saanich Peninsula
1945 July 3 - Aug. 26 VAG   B.C. Artists 4th Annual Summer House on the Hill
Old Cherry Tree
1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21 VAG   B.C. Artists 14th Annual Mount Stein, Lytton, B.C.
1946 May 31 - June 23 BCSFA   36th Annual Lytton, B.C.
West Bay
The Flowing Tide
February Snow
1946 July 2 - 28 VAG   Jubilee Exhibition The Red Fence
1947 May 9 - June 1 BCSFA   37th Annual The Golden Ears, Maple Ridge, B.C.
Spring in the Foothills
1947 Sept. 20 - Oct. 12 VAG   B.C. Artists 16th Annual Old Tree, Stanley Park
Sunday Afternoon
1948 May 18 -June 6 BCSFA   38th Annual The North Window
In Stanley Park
1948 Sept. 18 - Oct. 10 VAG   B.C. Artists 17th Annual An Old Timer
1949 May 3 - 22 BCSFA   39th Annual Chinese Laundry
1949 Oct. 8 - 30 VAG   B.C. Artists 18th Annual Old House, Sea Island, B.C.
Car Barns, Vancouver, B.C.
1950 April 25 - May 14 BCSA   40th Annual Tool House, Port Moody
Old Barn, Lytton
1951 April 24 - May 13 VAG    BCSA 41st Annual Still Life
Off the Beaten Path, Stanley Park
Early Summer, Stanley Park
1951 Summer Park Royal    BCSA Summer Exhibition Old house - Sea Island
A veteran
1952 April 1 - 20 VAG    BCSA 42nd Annual Gordon House, Vancouver
Shadows in the Valley
1953 May 5 - 31 VAG    BCSA 43rd Annual Root Forms, Stanley Park
Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park
Through the Woods
1954 May 25 - June 13 VAG    BCSA 44th Annual In Stanley Park

References

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM - NORTHWEST ARTISTS EXHIBITIONS 1914 - 1975
     Refer to NWA BC artists by exhibition
     Refer to NWAA BC artists alphabetically

WHO'S WHO IN NORTHWEST ART (refer to WWNA41)

SOUVENIR CATALOGUE OF EXHIBITIONS OPENING THE NEW VANCOUVER ART GALLERY (refer to VAG51)

BRITISH COLUMBIA - A CENTENNIAL ANTHOLOGY (refer to BCCA58)

100 YEARS OF B.C. ART (refer to VAG58)

THE FINE ARTS IN VANCOUVER, 1886 - 1930 (refer to THOM69)

ISLAND ARTS AND CRAFTS SOCIETY - List of Exhibitors

CONTEMPORARIES OF EMILY CARR IN BRITISH COLUMBIA (refer to SFU74)

FROM DESOLATION TO SPLENDOUR (refer to FDTS77)
      See biographical summary page 82 and colour illustration page 80.

ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS - EXHIBITIONS & MEMBERS 1880 - 1979 (refer to RCA81)

ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)

MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS SPRING EXHIBITIONS 1880 - 1970 (refer to MM88)
      Ten paintings listed in five exhibitions for Hood.

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
      1 reference cited for Hood: Who's Who in Northwest Art (should include MM and RCA)

INDEX TO NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA EXHIBITION CATALOGUES and CHECKLISTS 1880 - 1930
      2007; ISBN 978-0-88884-835-2; softcover, 514 pages
      Published by National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives: Occasional Paper Number 7
      Includes essay, catalogues, artist listings, collector listings, bibliography
      Reference to Hood page 272.

Clippings

"Mr. H. Hood has several examples in water color which show that he is on the right track. His best example is No. (13?), which he calls "The Moloch of the Forest". This is in fact a rural B.C. sawmill and he has rendered it very faithfully, the volume of white steam affording a note which he has known how to take advantage of. The landscape in which the mill is set is well put in."
      From "With The B.C. Artists" by "A Visitor"
      Vancouver Province, September 27 1916

"Mr. Harry Hood, another new and welcome addition to the club, was represented by four well handled watercolors, "Autumn" and "Evening" being, probably, the most appealing to the critic."
      From "Miss Neilson Terry is Guest of Sketch Club"
      Vancouver Daily World, April 1918

"Among those whose pictures were sold were ... Harry Hood ..."
      From "By the Way in Art" per B.C. Art League
      Vancouver Province, Thursday October 6 1921, page 12

"Among several contributions of a high order H. Hood hangs an interior of the Hotel Vancouver rotunda that marks a new departure in theme among local artists. He has done it well - whether it was worth doing or not. A picture of wider scope and greater sympathy by the same artist is "A Backyard of Industry," where the kindly coloring of time has softened the timbers and buildings to a brotherhood with the twilight."
      From "B.C. Fine Arts Society Exhibition (First Notice)"
      Vancouver Province, May 15 1923

"Mr. H. Hood's "Canadian National Railway Station" is done under the spell of commerce. The artist has invested the spirit of traffic with poetry; mauve mountains, in the distance, cobalt shadows filling the windows of the station, a tender twilight sky."
      From "Exhibition of the B.C. Society of Fine Art" by Alice M. Winlow
      British Columbia magazine, June 1924

"Harry Hood has arrived at a style of his own, which is very agreeable, and that he has thus arrived so that his pictures would be known if they were not signed show him to be an authentic artist."
      From "B.C. Society of Fine Arts" by Diogenes
      Vancouver Province, November 13 1930

" ... H. Hood, ... and others are exhibiting in the various classes."
      From "Bargains in Art" by D.S.M.
      Vancouver Sun, December 1 1933

"Notably among the oils are ... Harry Hood's "Old Boats, Kitsilano Reserve" ... "
      From "Christmas Exhibition At Art Gallery"
      Vancouver Art Gallery Press Release, November 1935

"Familiar Landscapes by Vancouver Artist" by T.H.W.
      News Herald, March 3 1936

"One of the finest examples in the display is Harry Hood's "Open Window" a treatment of light of remarkable strength. "Choate" (Ed. not in catalogue) is another of his pictures."
      From "Leading Provincial Artists Exhibit at Show" by T.H.W.
      News-Herald, June 10 1939

"A group of wood carvings by Lilias Farley now on display at Harry Hood's Art Emporium, again gives evidence of the skill of a creative local artist. ... "
      From "Western Artists Capture Interest At Toronto Show" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, November 20 1941

" ... together with oil and watercolour paintings by ... Harry Hood ... all contribute much to this extraordinary show."
      From "B.C. Society of Fine Arts Display Sets New High Mark" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, May 16 1942

"Harry Hood and S.P. Judge were elected life members."
      From "B.C. Artists' Display To Calgary For Exhibition" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, May-June 1942

" ... also Harry Hood who has recently been honored by having one of his paintings hung in the Royal Scottish Academy."
      From "B.C. Artists Evading War's Responsibility" by Mildred Valley Thornton
      Vancouver Sun, September 26 1942

" ... Among those contibuting paintings and drawings are: ... Harry Hood ... "
      From "Noted Artists Offer Paintings For Red Cross"
      Vancouver Province (presumed), November 1942

"Among other exhibits are Harry Hood's rugged mountain landscape ... "
      From "Fine Creative Spirit Marks Exhibition By B.C. Artists"
      Vancouver Province, May 21 1943

"Paintings by well known artists include ... Harry Hood ... "
      From "Summer Show at Gallery Major Event for Art Lovers" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, July 7 1943

"Harry Hood displays more and more authority in his sensitive landscapes ..."
      From "Notable Exhibits of Artists' Work" by Mildred Valley Thornton
      Vancouver Sun (presumed), May 1944

"Other painters in this medium include Harry Hood with "Tool House, Port Moody"; ... "
      From "Watercolors Highlight of Art Showing" by Mildred Valley Thornton
      Vancouver Sun, May 3 1950

"The Society membership has been constantly strengthened in the succeeding years by the addition of other members, which included in the early years ... Harry Hood ... "
      From "B.C. Society of Artists - A History" by J.D. Parker
      B.C. Society of Fine Arts 40th Annual Exhibition Catalogue, 1950

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