Name/Title
Revelstoke, B.C.Entry/Object ID
2018.08.07Description
Painting
This image is a landscape view in Revelstoke, B.C. with some tree stumps, tall birch and evergreen trees in the grassy foreground and a snow-capped mountain in the distance, presumed to be Mount Revelstoke. Founded in the 1880s when the Canadian Pacific Railway was built through the area, Revelstoke is a city in southeastern B.C. located on the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam.Artwork Details
Medium
Watercolour on paperSubject Place
Region
Cascades and PlateauContinent
North AmericaContext
Revelstoke maintains strong ties to its railway roots: however, newer economic drivers such as forestry, construction and tourism have increased over many decades. After Norwegian immigrants brought both skiing and ski jumping to Revelstoke in the early 20th c., it became an international center for ski jumping, attracting the world for the annual tournament that was held until 1975. The Mount Revelstoke Ski Hill ultimately closed; however, the Revelstoke Mountain Resort opened in 2007 and boasts North America's greatest vertical and offers a large range of activities for visitors.
Adjacent to the city of Revelstoke, is Mount Revelstoke National Park, established in 1914, "...in recognition of its unspoiled mountain scenery, its sub-alpine wildflower meadows, and its potential for recreational use.” Overall, Revelstoke is a popular tourist destination, with a myriad of winter and summer activities on offer from heli-skiing to winter camping to hiking in world-renowned landscapes from open mountain fields to rain forests to participating in a variety of interpretive programmes, and much more.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Helen May (Nellie) Duke (1889-1980)Role
PainterDate made
n.d.Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in London, England, Helen May (Nellie) Duke was a Canadian painter, who spent her younger years in India where her father was a British Army doctor. She was reportedly formally trained to paint by a British military topographical artist. In India's summer months, the Duke family moved to cooler northern climes, beginning Nellie's love affair with mountains. In 1903 the family moved to Switzerland and then to Germany, where Duke completed her formal education and became interested in watercolour art. She returned to England, later Guernsey and served with the Red Cross Society in France in World War I from 1915 to 1917 and then did nursing in Surrey. She later made her way to B.C., first to Vancouver in 1925 and then to Monte Lake where she had a large farm and also served as the post mistress. She exhibited in the B.C. Artists Christmas exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1933, and also the 1938 B.C. Artists Annual exhibition. She was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1941.
In 1939 she moved to Kamloops and later to the Okanagan Mission district of Kelowna, becoming a well-known fixture of the cultural community and a strong advocate for the arts. Here, in addition to her own painting practice, she wrote plays, organized an opera and art exhibitions and gave singing lessons. She was also a founding member of the Kelowna District Art Group in 1947 and in 1975, her achievements were acknowledged with the Honour in the Arts Award by the City of Kelowna. Duke was recognized as an accomplished painter who captured the beauty of natural scenery from Mount Revelstoke, the Shuswap, Salmon Arm and down through the Okanagan to Kelowna. Duke never married, passing away in Kelowna at the age of 91.
See "H.M. Duke - Shaping Space and Making Place" compiled and edited by Carolyn MacHardy. 2021.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Inscription, SignatureLocation
Titled lower left: Mt REVELSTOKE BCTranscription
Signed lower right: H M DukeDimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
29.2 cmWidth
14 cm
