If you look past the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa you will see that Leonardo da Vinci included a mountain vista in the background of his famous painting.

The mountains have always been a source of fascination and inspiration for artists. But it was not until the mid nineteenth century when British artists such as Constable and Turner, followed by the French impressionists, popularized pure landscape painting where landscapes were the subject, not just the background.

Canada is a young country dominated by its geography. It is not surprising that our most famous artists, such as members of the Group of Seven, embraced the landscape as their muse. Nature became an icon of purity in a rapidly changing world.

In 1924, at the height of his artist maturity, Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris made a pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains. This trip spawned the creation of some of his most famous and beloved paintings. Harris’s mountain landscapes have a mystical, luminous, quality that strike at the soul of the mountain experience.

That same year, 23-year-old British artist AC Leighton was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway to help promote tourism. On a six-month painting trip across the CPR main line, Leighton fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. He returned in 1927 to work exclusively in the area that had so impressed him on his first visit. Leighton said: “...the mountains, the peaks, the glaciers; that’s where I want to be and that’s what I want to paint!”

AC Leighton became head of the Alberta College of Art. As a member of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies, he discovered desolate mountain passes near and above the tree line that became preferred subjects of his paintings. In 1929 Leighton founded the Alberta Society of Artists, and in 1933 he established what was to become the visual arts program of The Banff Centre.

Since then, The Banff Centre has been a magnet for artists from around the world—including me. I joined a residency program at the Centre in the early 1980s. Like many artists who are new to Banff, I had little experience with mountains. They impressed me with their majestic beauty, but I found no place for them in my art.

With such a strong precedence of works by Harris and Leighton, as well as JEH MacDonald, Walter Phillips, Remington, Catharine and Peter Whyte and many others, I saw no room to further an artistic dialog with the mountain landscape. It had all been done. Or so it seemed.

The mountains soon got into my blood. But it took years of hiking, camping, white water kayaking and backcountry snowboarding before I was able build a 'vocabulary' of mountain experience and start visualizing the mountains in my own way. Only then could I start dealing with the mountain landscape in my art.

Other artists who come to the mountains face this dilemma. Fellow painter and Banff resident Mike Cameron struggled with the idea of incorporating mountains into his work for years. Maybe it was his time working at Skoki backcountry lodge near Lake Louise, but even Cameron doesn’t know when the turning point occurred. Yet Cameron is now one of the Canadian Rockies’ most prominent mountain landscape artists.

In 1972, young Wendy Wacko came to the Rockies to ski—unlike Cameron and myself, she instantly knew this was the place for her to be an artist. She settled in Jasper and began work as a filmmaker and painter. Wacko opened her first gallery 14 years ago, and now owns Mountain Galleries at The Fairmont in Banff, Jasper and Whistler. She does not display her own paintings—these are shown at the Scott Gallery in Edmonton.

I suspect that for all artists who live and work in this area, the mountains are our inspiration and the primary reason we have chosen the Canadian Rockies to be our home. In fact, our mountain communities are a hubbub of art activity. You can see the variety of artistic approaches to the mountain landscape at The Galleries at The Fairmont and many other local venues.

At Banff’s Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, the Lives & Legacy exhibit includes paintings by the museum founders Peter and Catharine Whyte, as well as canvases produced by their contemporaries. Beginning Apr 22, Art from the Permanent Collection showcases works by significant landscape artists including Group of Seven members.

This winter, the Jasper Artist Guild (JAG) mounts exhibits of members’ recent works at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum. The Canmore Artists & Artisans Guild (CAAG) displays their members’ art above the library. Stroll Canmore’s main street and find several galleries that display and sell local art.

Throughout its 31-year history, Banff’s Canada House Gallery has represented local and other Canadian artists. Their longevity and international clientele is proof that there is a strong market for art in the area. Gallery owners Barbara and Eric Pelham note: “We are surrounded by beauty—the majestic Rocky Mountains, talented Canadian artists, their stunning creations, and appreciative clients and visitors from around the world. We feel truly fortunate, and are happy to pass along our love of art and mountain culture.”

Summit Gallery in downtown Banff is a relative newcomer, but owners Emily Barnet and Bart Habermiller are long time members of the Calgary art community. Barnet saw the opportunity to represent local artists: “The Bow Valley’s natural beauty, combined with The Banff Center’s culture, makes the region a Mecca for artists. Many of the artists we exhibit live and work here. The area provides not only the inspiring physical beauty of the land, but an exclusive lifestyle within an uninterrupted environment, providing a mental space critical to a prolific art practice.”

Not all art in the Canadian Rockies are mountain landscapes. The Banff Centre's Walter Phillips Gallery exhibits cutting edge contemporary art. Many of their media- and installation-based works challenge traditional concepts. As strange as this new art may seem, consider that Lawren Harris paintings of 80 years ago must have seemed avant-garde to the viewing public then. Now his paintings are appreciated by all.

It is truly amazing the amount and variety of art that can be seen, in what at first, may seem to simply be a place focused on outdoor experiences. Taking the time to visit the Canadian Rockies through its art will change the way you see these mountains.

Publication Date: 11/2005