BC ARTISTS: From an Angle on the Square

Vancouver Daily Province, February 23 1950

FROM AN ANGLE ON THE SQUARE

by D.A. McGregor

The B.C. Society of Artists is planning an exhibition in the spring, the fortieth in a long and notable series, and, as a feature of the exhibition is to place on display paintings by some of the old-timers who helped bring art to Vancouver and establish it here. It will be good to get another look at the canvases which occupied the wall in far-gone years and to be able to contrast the attitude toward nature which prevailed among artists then with that in vogue today, for there has been a great change.
The old-time pictures should also bring back such of the old-time artists as are still among us - unhappily, there are not very many - and reminiscences of those who are gone. The early artists were not daubers by any means. Many of them were highly competent in draughtsmanship and color work and had had instruction in the best English or American or continental schools.

* * *      The B.C. Society of Artists has only recently taken its new name. Previously, it was known as the B.C. Society of Fine Arts. It was organized in 1908 and held its first exhibition in the fall of that year (sic). I have not been able to find a catalogue of that exhibition. The second exhibition was held in November, 1909. The honorary president of the society at that time was His Excellency, Earl Grey. The partrons were Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, Hon. Richard McBride, then Premier of the province; Mrs. J.C. Keith, Mr. H. Abbott, local representative of the Canadian Pacific; Mrs. A.L. Russell, Mayor Douglas and Mr. F.C. Wade.
     The officers were T.W. Fripp and Bernard McEvoy. vice-presidents; John Kyle, ARCA, honorary treasurer, and S.P. Judge, honorary secretary.
     The membership, in addition to the officers, consisted of David Blair, Allan Brooks, Noel Bursill, Mrs. Beanlands, Miss M.E. Carr, Mrs. C. Bamfylde-Daniell, H.J. DeForest, J.B. Fitzmaurice, Claude W. Gray, ARCA, N.H. Hawkins, Miss Mills, S. Maclure, G. Thornton Sharp, ARIBA, Miss Alice Blair Thomas and Stanley D. Tytler

* * *      As far as I know, there are only two members of the above with us now, S.P. Judge, who is still active in art circles and G. Thornton Sharp, who is living on Vancouver Island and still painting. (Ed: also John Kyle) Mr. Sharp was a member of the firm of architects that laid out the University grounds and designed the first buildings there. He was an active member of Vancouver's first Town Planning Commission and architectural adviser in connection with the building of Burrard Bridge.
     Of the members listed, Allan Brooks was a well-known painter of wild life, particularly of birds. Many of his paintings are reproduced in Taverner's "Birds of Canada."
     Noel Bursill, a son of Felix Penne, retired to England many years ago.

* * *      Miss M.E. Carr was teaching art at Crofton House at the time of this exhibition. Later, she went back to her home at Victoria and became famous both as a painter of British Columbia scenes and as a writer. Her "Book of Small," "Growing Pains," "Klee Wyck," all more or less autobiographical, are almost classics. Miss Carr, as her paintings and her books show, was a lady with a mind of her own. A good story is told of one of her outings in the early days.
     The Fairview street car line along Broadway had not been long in operation when, one day, Miss Carr and her big shepherd dog which accompanied her everywhere, went out to Fairview on a sketching expedition, or merely to explore. At a car stop, Miss Carr and the dog alighted and the dog, to get out of the sun, retired under the car and lay down. The motorman wanted to start again, but the dog kept his place. The motorman tried to get him out, the conductor tried, various passengers tried, Miss Carr herself tried, but the dog remained. He had a mind of his own, too. At length, the car crew grew impatient. After all, there was a schedule to keep. They would start up and let the dog take his chances.
     "But you can't do that," Miss Carr protested. "You would run over the dog."
     "But we can and we are going to," the street railwayman replied and they both climbed aboard.
     "Ding ding" said the bell.
     But the car didn't start, for Miss Carr was sitting flat on the track between the rails. And there she sat until, in the fulness of time the dog came out.

* * *      Thomas Fripp was, at the time of the founding of the society, easily the best known B.C. artist and was the first president. Later, he was president on many occasions. He was a notable painter of mountains and a teacher of many budding artists.
     J.B. Fitzmaurice was for many years cartoonist for The Vancouver Daily Province.
     Norman Hawkins was for a time, cartoonist for the B.C. Saturday Sunset. He was an architect and an authority on free masonry. About the time of World War I, when there were no commissions for architects and when pictures could not be given away, Mr. Hawkins sought to turn an honest penny by sketching for a small fee the face of any person who would sit for him. After a time, he set up his easel in the window of a vacant store. He happened to be president of the society at the time and Mr. Fripp launched a protest. He thought it was decidedly infra dig. for the president of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts to be doing such work.

* * *      John Kyle was for years on the staff of the provincial department of education as superintendent of art and manual training in the province.
     Bernard McEvoy was for many years literary editor of The Province, conducting his column, "Street Corners" under the name "Diogenes."
     Stanley D. Tytler belonged to a noted Anglo-Indian family. He was born in a bullock cart outside the walls of Delhi during the Indian mutiny and in his young manhood was a trooper in the Zulu war. He was one of the most active of the members of the society in the early days and served on various occasions as secretary. He and Mr. McEvoy were made honorary members before they died. Mr. Judge is an honorary member now.

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