The Naval Service of Canada, 1910-2010 by Richard H. Gimblett

Author:Richard H. Gimblett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: 2009-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Canadian War Museum 19710261-4208

Donald Cameron Mackay, Convoy, Afternoon.

With the added voice of the Honourable Vincent Massey, Canadian High Commissioner to Great Britain, and the tireless petitioning of the government by the formidable A.Y. Jackson, Mackenzie King finally acquiesced. Cabinet approved the formation of the Canadian War Records late in 1942, with Massey appointed chair and a War Artists Advisory Committee headed by McCurry and consisting of representatives from the Historical Branches of the RCN, RCAF and Canadian Army to administer the program. McCurry’s selection committee quickly gathered to adjudicate the 32 artists nominated by the three services to participate.The committee resolved that those selected for the program would have exemplary qualifications, preferably that they should be members of the RCAA, have national and international credentials, and serve on faculty in a university art program.The first artists were selected by February 1943 and generally remained “embedded” within their military environment for the duration of their contract. In accordance with the Instructions to Artists also compiled by the committee, the artists were expected to record “significant events, scenes, phases and episodes in the experience of the Canadian Armed Forces” and engage in “active operations” in order to “know and understand the action, the circumstances, the environment, and the participants.” The artists would be required to produce paintings and field drawings “worthy of Canada’s highest cultural traditions, doing justice to History, and as works of art, worthy of exhibition anywhere at any time.”8 In a six-month period, they were required to produce a daunting collection made up of two 40×48-inches and two 24×30-inches oil paintings; 25 watercolours, 10 measuring 22×30-inches, the rest, 11×15-inches; and their field sketches. In the event, this schedule proved to be too demanding, and the numbers were adjusted down to accommodate bad weather, lack of subject matter, and bureaucratic red tape.

McCurry drew upon the expertise of advisers from the wider artistic community including, A. J. Casson, Edwin Holgate, Charles Comfort, and, specifically, A.Y. Jackson (Holgate and Comfort later signed up for active duty and were employed as war artists with the army). Jackson played a key role in the selection process for the program. “As far as possible the most capable artists in the country were given the opportunity to participate,” he recalled, with “professional artists already in the armed forces” given first consideration.9 For this reason, Harold Beament, Donald Cameron Mackay, and Rowley Murphy were offered the first navy billets in the program.

Another serving officer who caught Massey’s eye in England was Lieutenant-Commander C.Anthony (“Tony”) Law. Commander of the 29th Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla renowned for engaging with enemy coastal convoys off France, and twice Mentioned-in-Dispatches for this highly dangerous and stressful activity, Law professed to paint “to keep sane.”10 Born into a life of privilege in 1916 to parents living in London during the Great War, Law grew up in Quebec City but moved to Ottawa in 1935, where he was captivated by the Group of Seven collection in the old National Gallery (the building that is now the Museum of Nature).

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