Name/Title
Ottawa - Parliament from Major's HillEntry/Object ID
2019.02.02Description
Print
This image depicts the Parliament of Canada. It is taken from Major's Hill Park which features some of the best lookouts in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. Parliament Hill is depicted in the background with the Peace Tower and Centre Block to the left and the 16-sided polygonal Library of Parliament to the right. The Centre Block houses the House of Commons and Senate Chambers. The park in the foreground stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River.Artwork Details
Medium
Etching, drypoint and mezzotint on paperSubject Place
Region
NortheastContinent
North AmericaContext
Major’s Hill Park is Ottawa’s first park, used as such since 1826, when the building of the Rideau Canal began. In 1867, fireworks and bonfires in the park marked the Capital’s first Canada Day celebrations. It was formally established as a park in 1875. The 12.5 acre park is located northeast of Parliament Hill between the National Gallery of Canada to the north and the Fairmont Château Laurier to the south, and covers over five hectares of land. The centrally-located park often serves as the venue for events such as concerts, fairs and various celebrations, as well as serving as a tranquil oasis for locals and tourists with gardens, rolling lawns and winding pathways. Interpretation panels, plaques and statuary introduce visitors to its history.
Initially the hill was called Colonel’s Hill, after Lieutenant-Colonel John By, who was Superintending Engineer responsible for building the Rideau Canal, the monumental 200 km canal that was cut through the Canadian wilderness including the building of close to 50 dams and locks. Built as a defensive work to connect Montreal and Kingston (via St. Lawrence River, Ottawa River and Rideau Canal) in the event of war with the United States, the canal is the best preserved example of a 19th-century slack water canal (combination of dammed still-water pools connected by navigation locks) in North America, with most of its original structures intact.
Ultimately, while the canal was not put to defensive use, it did play a key role in the early development of Canada, encouraging shipping, trade, and settlement. The Rideau Canal was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1925, and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007 recognizing it as a work of human creative genius. Ironically, By was never recognized for this achievement in his lifetime and he died shortly after the canal's completion. The canal became the most expensive military-financed public work project undertaken in any British colony in the 19th century, and while rumours of mismanagement and worse abounded, By was cleared of all charges by the British Parliament.
Colonel By's personal residence once stood on the hill property. However, Colonel By was recalled to England to speak to the canal's cost overruns and Daniel Bolton moved into the home, becoming Superintending Engineer (1832-1843), and was later promoted to Major. Thereafter, the land became known as Major’s Hill, and ultimately Major's Hill Park. The residence burnt to the ground in 1848.
While a career military man in the Corps of Royal Engineers, Major Bolton was also scientifically inclined and he collected fossil, plant, insect and seashell specimens, particularly for scientific collections such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as for the Herbarium, Trinity College Dublin and the British Museum. He had a number of plant and animal species named after him.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
John BennRole
PrintmakerDate made
circa 2000Time Period
21st CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Burnley, Lancashire, England, John Benn is a well-established and prolific Canadian artist, known for his etchings and linocut prints of Ontario landscapes. Benn started out doing prints of natural scenes and some portraits. Today, he likes to paint in oil “en plein air” through every season and enjoys painting in the woodlands of Ottawa.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Inscription, Signature, LabelLocation
Titled lower left: Ottawa, Parliament from Major's Hill
Signed lower right: John BennTranscription
Label from verso frame backing is in file:
ORIGINAL
HARD GROUND & LA CRAVATE ETCHING
+ DRYPOINT & MEZZOTINT
by John Benn
Hand-Printed on Acid-Free PaperDimensions
Dimension Description
SupportHeight
21.6 cmWidth
31.8 cmAcquisition
Acquisition Method
PurchaseDate
2018Notes
Detail unknown
![Lower Bytown [later Ottawa], 1841. Watercolour by Philip John Bainbrigge (1817-1881): Residence of Lieutenant-Colonel John By, later Major Daniel Bolton, built atop what is now Major’s Hill Park. The house overlooked the entrance locks to the Rideau Canal from the east and was destroyed by fire in 1848. From Library and Archives Canada](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/5457/5e1674b0-0260-11ee-b685-514ff5b81fe1-vQWgPnH.lg@2x.jpg)