A rare and important painting of Enderby’s Giant’s Head Castle Mountain, better known as the Enderby Cliffs, is about to go on auction.
The painting, done by American artist Grafton Tyler (G.T.) Brown (1841-1918), was shown to appraiser and Vancouver auction house owner Anthony Westbridge when he visited the Vernon Public Art Gallery in May with Vernon antiques appraiser Peter Blundell.
The painting shows the ranch of Enderby pioneer A.L. Fortune, one of the first European settlers in the Okanagan, at the head of navigation on the “Spallumcheen River, October 6, 1882,” which is now known as the Shuswap River.
The cliffs, which are now deemed as a provincial park, loom overhead.
“I didn’t know who G.T. Brown was when the work was first brought to me in Vernon,” said Westbridge. “But a little research soon showed what an important and much sought after artist he is.”
The painting was executed from a sketch done by Brown in 1882 while he served as an expedition artist for the Amos Bowman Geological Survey in B.C.
The purpose of the survey was to map and record the wilderness east of the Cascade Mountains along the Fraser River, said Westbridge.
Born to a freed slave in Harrisburg, Penn., Brown was considered the first professional African-American artist to have created works depicting California and the Pacific Northwest.
“He completed a series of 22 paintings in 1883 based on his sketches from his survey trip, which were then exhibited in June of that year in Victoria at the New Colonist Buildings,” said Westbridge. “The painting of Giant’s Head was number 22 in the exhibition. Only one other work from the 22 exhibited in Victoria has appeared at auction in recent history, and this was a View of Lake Okanagan that sold for $40,000 at Sotheby’s, New York in 2006.”
Giant’s Head was originally acquired from an estate auction of the furniture and effects of Mrs. A.L. Fortune in Armstrong in 1931.
The painting was then passed on to Alex and Lois Roberts, who had it displayed in their Enderby home for the past 40 years.
Their son, Geordie, a well known singer, music professor and adjudicator, did some research on Brown, and as a result, the Roberts had Westbridge assess the painting.
Its estimated worth (uninsured) is between $10,000 and $15,000.
“While it is the American collectors who are most interested in his work, it certainly would be great if a local Okanagan collector would purchase it and keep it where it really belongs, here in B.C.,” said Westbridge.
While in the Okanagan, Westbridge and Blundell also held clinics at the Penticton and Kelowna art galleries.
In Penticton, Westbridge was shown another local painting showing the S.S. Sicamous sternwheeler on Okanagan Lake.
The piece was painted by prominent Vernon-born artist Janet Holly Middleton (1920-1989.)
Middleton enjoyed an impressive artistic career that included studying at the Slade School in London, England, and the Emma Lake School in Saskatchewan, as well as a teaching spell at the Banff School of Fine Arts.
The S.S. Sicamous is a five-decked sternwheeler built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1914. It was used for lake service between the fruit communities of Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon and operated on Okanagan Lake until 1937, connecting rail lines and surrounding areas.
The vessel is currently beached as part of a heritage shipyard operated by the Penticton Museum and Archives.
Middleton’s painting will be included in the June 23 auction alongside the G.T. Brown piece and other works consigned during the series of appraisals clinics, among them a magnificent 17th century portrait of Lady Susan Hamilton by renowned Scottish portrait painter William Aikman.
“There’s a wealth of wonderful paintings in the Okanagan, and we had an excellent three days appraising a broad range of Canadian and international pieces,” said Westbridge. “This was our third visit to the Okanagan and we look forward to coming back again next year, if not before. We have even discussed the possibility of holding one of our quarterly auctions in the region.”
The complete catalogue for the Westbridge auction can be viewed online at www.westbridgeauctions.com. The sale also offers out-of-town collectors the opportunity to bid live online if they are unable to make it to the sale.
