Accession Number

983.797b

Alternate Name

oil painting

Description

A framed oil painting on a canvas support depicting a mountain landscape, a pink-coloured twin mountain predominant in the background, in the mid-ground a group of coniferous trees on left, a lake at lower right, a small Aboriginal encampment in the centre, the artist's signature at bottom left, the "F" overlapping "S" of "Schafer", the verso inscribed by hand on the back of the canvas support in a black medium thusly: "Mt. Tacoma view from the Dalles, Org.".

Narrative

This picture sold from Craigdarroch’s billiard room as lot #534 on June 23rd, 1909 during Joan Olive Dunsmuir's Executors' auction. A total of eight paintings by Schafer were sold at that auction.

Mt. Tacoma has also been called Tahoma and Talol, but is today generally known as Mt. Rainier. It is a dormant volcano southeast of Seattle, Washington, USA. The last recorded eruption was 1854. Eyewitnesses reported eruptive activity in 1858, 1870, 1879, 1882 and 1894. Frederick Schafer was somewhat creative when approaching his subjects. In the case of this picture, Mt. Rainier can’t actually be seen from the Dalles, Oregon. Also, Mt. Rainier has been covered with a glacier for thousands of years yet a glacier is not depicted in this painting. 

Dr. Jereome Saltzer’s Schafer catalogue raisonné and on-line record of this painting can be accessed here: http://ffscat.csail.mit.edu/ffshtml/descrs/FFSd0256.htm

History of Use

This painting was owned by Joan Olive Dunsmuir while she lived at Craigdarroch. After her death, it was sold from the billiard room as lot #534 at the June 23, 1909 Dunsmuir Executor’s auction. The purchaser was Vincent Clinton Maddock. He died in Vancouver on October 27, 1972 and in accordance with his Will, the painting was transferred to The Castle Society. Notes on file indicate that the painting’s transfer from the Maddock Estate is described in a James K. Nesbitt article published Victoria’s newspaper, The Daily Colonist, August 10, 1973. Minutes of The Castle Society's Annual General Meeting held November 25, 1972 record that members were informed of the bequest. This notice was followed by Mr. Nesbitt's written report to members dated November 15, 1974 in which he said the Maddock painting(s) and bronze vase were in the Castle. 

The painting was exhibited at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria from February-April, 1994.

Date

circa 1890

Dimensions

75 x 125.5 cm

Artwork Title

Mount Tacoma, View from the Dalles, Org.

Subject/Image

Mt. Rainier, south of Seattle, WA, USA. Also known as Mt. Tacoma, Mt. Tahoma and Mt. Talol.

Medium

Oil

Support

Canvas

Technique

Painted

School/Style

Rocky Mountain School

Inscription

At lower right, FSchafer, underlined, in the artist's block-letter hand, initials conjoined in a monogram; on the verso lower centre, Mt Tacoma/View from the Dalles, Org. in black brush, the "c" in "Tacoma" is over an original "k". On frame: under the canvas 52, in pencil.

Country of Origin

United States of America