By Tyler Marr

A look at the public art inside City Hall

Jul 15, 2018 | 1:40 PM

Dozens of employees and citizens each day pass by artwork displayed along the corridors of City Hall as they mill about their business.

Some pieces date back a century and are the last remaining works by the artists, while others recognize iconic moments in the city’s history, like the Olympic torch relay in 2010.

paNOW took a tour of the artwork inside City Hall with Arts and Cultural Coordinator Judy MacLeod Campbell to learn more about the creative content in the public domain.

Up first was Council Chambers, which houses a multitude of significant works and some of the city’s most prized pieces. 

The most prominent piece on the East wall is a massive 8.5-foot tall canvas oil painting depicting Sir George Simpson on his tour of inspection from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific Coast. It shows a well-dressed man in a top hat, white collared shirt and black bow tie, accompanied by a bagpiper and other men in weathered clothing paddling down the river in a worn canoe. It is believed to have been completed circa 1908 by Cyrus Cincinatto Cuneo, a British artist born into an Italian American family, and was acquired by the city in 1931 from Canadian Pacific Railway.

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It is insured and valued at $65,000. It is rare, as most of Cuneo’s work was destroyed in a fire, leaving very few pieces remaining in the world. Due to its age, it does require some refurbishing, evident by the sagging in the canvas. Touch up work has been attempted, though it is clear it was completed by someone not trained to do so. Restoration of the piece is estimated to cost upward of $30,000.

First up: A massive 8.5-foot tall oil painting depicting Sir George Simpson on his tour of inspection from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific Coast. It is insured and valued at $65,000 and was completed in 1908. pic.twitter.com/xnIPwXGcU7

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

Next to it is a much smaller, but equally elegant landscape by Dr. Augustus Kenderdine. Dr. Kenderdine was a landscape and portrait artist who participated in building post-secondary fine arts education in Saskatchewan and is best known for his paintings of the wilderness of northern Saskatchewan.

Titled ‘On the Saskatchewan River,’ the oil canvas board piece completed in 1929 depicts a scene of the river, filled with shrubbery, trees and a worn shoreline, all awash in warm sunlight. It was gifted by the doctor to the city on May 16, 1930.

Next, a landscape by Dr. Augustus Kenderdine. Titled ‘On the Saskatchewan River,’ the oil canvas board piece was completed in 1929. pic.twitter.com/IRCn4zP97d

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

Across the Chamber is the portrait of possibly Prince Albert’s most recognizable citizen: former prime minister John G. Diefenbaker. The eleven-foot tall portrait of ‘Dief the Chief’ pops on a void, jet black background. 

Very little is known about the piece, such as the artist and why it is in the city’s possession, besides the obvious, though it is believed to have been done sometime during or before 1984 and acquired in October of that year.

Across the Chamber is the portrait of possibly Prince Albert’s most recognizable citizen: former prime minister John G. Diefenbaker. pic.twitter.com/ICKWrAnmDF

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

On the upper levels of City Hall are more localized and recent works, like one completed by students at Carlton Comprehensive High School. It is made from wood, clay and paint and is based upon the ‘Girl In A Wicker Chair’ by Canadian artist Mary Pratt. It was presented to the city on March 27, 2000. 

On the upper levels of City Hall are more localized and recent works, like this one completed by students at Carlton Comprehensive High School. pic.twitter.com/N8gAosL6sL

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

Next to the Mayor’s Office sits two standout works. The first is a large 12-panel commemorative wall hanging quilt completed in 1979 by the Prince Albert Sharp Needles Chapter presented to the city for its 75 Anniversary in 1979. 

Each panel is meticulously completed to showcase iconic scenes of Prince Albert’s past and present. One in the upper left corner contains a river steamer called ‘Marquis.’ Others are images of the pulp mill, a window of St. Mary’s Church, a plane used by bush pilots in the 1930s and 40s, a scene of snow dogs from the Winter Festival and the Presbyterian Mission House, later occupied provisionally by the North West Mounted Police.

Next to the Mayor’s Office sits two standout works. The first is a large 12-panel commemorative wall hanging quilt completed in 1979 by the Prince Albert Sharp Needles Chapter presented to the city for its 75 Anniversary that year. pic.twitter.com/T2I38QTAbb

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

Next to it sits a stunning blue, white and black acrylic piece given to the city in 1991 from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations. It was completed that year by Ochapowace artist Denny Morrison. 

The frame background shows vibrant snowcapped mountains and a moon containing the silhouette of an eagle, with pine trees and a person in the foreground. Hidden in the sky is a set of eyes and lips and a nose blend into the mountain to create a face.

Beside it hangs a blue, white and black acrylic piece given to the city in 1991 from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations. pic.twitter.com/3VPpdIkDHW

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

On the floor above is a piece that was actually completed by past employees of the city. Untitled, it shows a circle labyrinth with paths connecting buildings along the outer edge.

On the floor above is a piece that was actually completed by past employees of the city. pic.twitter.com/1QIbO1tJGN

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

Across from it is a bright fiery image given to the city in 2010 from RBC to commemorate the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay through the city. While the artist is unknown, an acrylic finger painting technique was used to paint an impression of the community. It shows a woman with long black hair wrapped in white bearing a messy resemblance of the iconic white, wavy Olympic torch that journeyed across the nation that year for the Winter Olympic’s in Vancouver.

Across from it is a bright fiery image given to the city in 2010 from RBC to commemorate the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. pic.twitter.com/2Nz7caET5f

— Tyler Marr (@JournoMarr) July 15, 2018

MacLeod Campbell said there was a multitude of importance in maintaining and displaying public art. Besides being enjoyable to observe, said it adds a nice “aesthetic to the community” and spurs discussion.

“Often, it is abstract, so different people see different things,” she said. “City Hall, in particular, many items have been donated items, but they certainly add a nice visual atmosphere to city hall and throughout the city.”

The art’s department recently undertook a citywide inventory of art in the city, something which had never been done before, and a critical chapter in documenting and preserving history.

“After the inventory was done, we had a good look at the condition of the artwork and what might have to be done in the future,” she said. “I think, twofold: one, to ensure we have good documentation, or as much as we can, about the artwork and its history, and of course, for insurance and to maintain it.”

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr