By the Shore Learning Guide

Ahoy there and welcome. We’re glad you’re visiting the By the Shores: Maritime B.C. in Paintings exhibition. There’s lots to learn here, and this learning guide will ask questions to help you get more out of your visit. To learn the answer to any of the questions select the + symbol in the answer box.

Question 1

What is the name of the steamship in the painting by Ray Warren?

Question 2

How many lighthouses can you find in this exhibit?

Question 3

Find the painting titled the Old Waterfront, 1898 by John M. Horton. The steamship in the centre of the painting is called the Empress of Japan. We have a model of the Empress of Japan in the Vancouver Maritime Museum! Can you find it?

Question 4

Below is a photo of a floating drydock used for building and repairing ships. Can you find the painting that has a drydock in it?

Photo: Chernilevsky, George. (2008). Floating dock in Sevastopol. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floating_dock_2008_G1.jpg (accessed June 18, 2020) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain.

Question 5

There are two towers in the painting of Victoria by Joseph Phillips. Do you know what buildings they belong to?

Question 6

Below is the flag of France. Can you find the painting with this flag in it?

Image: Anomie. (2011). Flag of France. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_France.svg (accessed June 19, 2020) Wikipedia Public Domain.

Question 7

Below is an image of a sidewheel paddle steamer. Can you find the painting that includes a sidewheel paddle steamer?

Image: Unknown. (1840). A clip art image used to highlight maritime announcements and advertisements in the Finnish newspaper Helsingfors Tidningar in 1840. Most likely modelled on the Finnish paddle steamer Furst Menschikoff (1837). Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Furst_Menschikoff_1840.png (accessed June 19, 2020) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain.

Question 8

Tugboats, like the one in the photograph below, come in all shapes and sizes and are super important as they guide large ships in and out of harbours, among doing many other tasks. How many tugboats can you find in this exhibit?

Photo: US Navy. (1950). Red Cloud (YTB-268) alongside USNS General David C. Shanks (T-AP-180) outbound outside the Golden Gate at San Francisco, CA., circa 1950s. Red Cloud is retrieving the harbor pilot from the transpor. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tug_Red_Cloud_YTB-268.jpg (accessed June 18, 2020) Wikipedia Public Domain.

Question 9

Look at the painting of Vancouver Harbour by Spencer Percival Judge, which shows the city’s skyline in 1907. Compare it to the 2007 photo of Vancouver below. How much has the city changed over the last century?

Photo: Bupper. (2007). Vancouver panorama from Stanley Park. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vancouver_panorama_stanleypark.jpg (accessed June 19, 2020) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain.

Question 10

Who is the City of Vancouver named after?

Question 11

Look at the painting of Mount Baker by Walter James Barber. Do you know where Mount Baker is located and who it is named after?

Question 12

Look at the painting of Burrard Inlet that William Ferris completed in 1890 and compare it the 2007 photo below of the same area. How much has the scenery changed in the past 130 years?

Photo: Bobanny. (2007). Vancouver’s waterfront, taken from Harbour Centre Lookout, March 2007. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PortOVan.jpg (accessed June 19, 2020) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain.

Question 13

Look at the painting of the Nanaimo Harbour by G. H. Tovey, the painting of Victoria Harbour by Alfred Crocker Leighton and the painting of the Vancouver Harbour by Spencer Percival Judge. What similarities and differences do these harbours share?

Question 14

Look at the paintings of the Pacific Challenger and Sudbury II by Neil Hamelin. What type of boats are these?

Hint: Find the model of the Sudbury in the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

Question 15

Below is an image of a yawl, a 2-masted vessel using triangular sails. Can you find a painting in this exhibit that shows one?

Image: Pearson Scott Foresman. (2019). Line drawing of yawl. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yawl_(PSF).png (accessed June 30, 2020) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain.

Question 16

Look at the painting by William Ferris of the Second Narrows before it was spanned by bridges. Compare the scene to the photograph below of the same area. What had to be done to the landscape to build the Second Narrows Bridge?

Photo: Frank, Leonard Juda. (1926). First train over Second Narrows Bridge, automobiles and truck loaded with lumber. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Train_Over_Second_Narrows_Bridge_with_Automobiles_and_Logging_Truck.jpg (accessed July 1, 2020) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain.

Question 17

Emily Carr is one of the most well-known Canadian artists. Look at her two paintings of the Vancouver Harbour. One is done in oil and the other in watercolour. How are they different?

For Further Thought

These questions have no right or wrong answers.

Question 18

The works of three female artists are featured in this exhibit. Emily Carr and Zena Randall both painted images of the busy Vancouver Harbour while Olive Watson chose to paint a tranquil scene at Bull Harbour. If you were to paint a harbour scene, where would you choose?

Question 19

Look at Skidegate Channel by Harry Heine.  How does this painting make you feel? What is the first word that comes to mind?

We hope you enjoyed using this learning guide. Did you come up with questions of your own about the pieces? Want to give us feedback? Use the hashtag #BytheShore on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and tell us.