Name/Title
Sproat Lake, Mount Klitsa, Vancouver IslandEntry/Object ID
2016.03.04Description
Painting
This landscape depicts a view of Sproat Lake with a small island, looking westward toward Mount Klitska on central Vancouver Island, B.C. The image is carefully composed and executed with the viewer's eye drawn to the island and its reflection in the lake and then to the snow-covered mountain in the background.Type of Painting
Watercolour on paperArtwork Details
Medium
Watercolour on paperSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
Sproat Lake was known as “Kleecoot” (meaning “wide open”) by local First Nations people, the Nuu-chah-nulth. Mount Klitska derives from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth word meaning "always white". The term Nuu-Chah-Nulth describes fifteen related tribes whose traditional home is on Vancouver Island. In 1864 the lake was renamed by Robert Brown of the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition as Sproat Lake in honour of entrepreneur and colonial official Gilbert Malcolm Sproat. In 2022, in the spirit of reconciliation, it was proposed that Sproat Lake’s name be changed back to "Kleecoot".
Today, in addition to lakeside homes, the lake has three provincial parks on its shores: Sproat Lake Provincial Park, Taylor Arm Provincial Park, and Fossli Provincial Park. Best known for being a scenic vacation spot, the Fossli park has several petroglyphs.
The lake has also been the home of the last air-worthy Hawaii Martin Mars II type water bomber since its last flight in 2016. Only seven of these enormous planes (over 60 m. wing span) were made by the California Glenn L. Martin Co. for the United States Navy during World War II and they were originally used used as long-distance cargo planes. The Mars bombers were later a big part of fighting forest fires on Vancouver Island. The bombers used Sproat Lake for their runway and to scoop up water to take to forest fire areas. As the largest fixed-wing water bombers in the world, they were able to carry some 27 tons of water. Donated by Port Alberni's Coulson Aviation, the Hawaii water bomber moved to its new home at the B.C. Aviation Museum in Sidney, North Saanich in August 2024. And the only other Martin Mars water bomber in existence, the Philippine Mars, will also leave Sproat Lake for its new home at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tuccson, Arizona in 2024.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Beatrice M. Monks (1894-1984)Role
PainterDate made
1939Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Massachusetts, Beatrice M. Monks was an artist active in Yolo National Park in the Rocky Mountains, in eastern B.C. in 1918. By 1930 she was living in Worcester, Massachusetts and she died in Greenwich, Rhode Island.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Inscription, Date, LabelLocation
Signed and dated lower right: B.M.Monks 1939Transcription
Verso frame from paper dust cover, handwritten in pen:
Sproat Lake 1939
Vancouver Island
B.C.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
23.5 cmWidth
28 cmAcquisition
Acquisition Method
PurchaseDate
2016Notes
Purchased Charity Auction March 2016
