L is for landscapes
The Baldwin Collection of Canadiana includes a collection of documentary art — photographs, postcards and artwork depicting the country from coast to coast.
The collection was founded with the donation of the J. Ross Robertson Collection, which contains many of the library’s most notable landscape paintings.
London, from the River Thames, Ontario
James Hamilton, 1810-1896
ca. 1840
Oil
Gift of J. Ross Robertson
Baldwin Collection of Canadiana
North branch of the River Thames, London (Ontario)
ca. 1842
London (Ontario) from the River Thames
ca. 1846
These serene landscapes were captured by James Hamilton, whose oil and watercolour paintings reflected the traditions of his native England.
He was affiliated with the Society of Artists and Amateurs of Toronto, the city’s first organized group of artists. He relocated to London, Ontario (then Canada West) in 1844.
Duck shooting near Oak Lake, Manitoba
William George Richardson Hind, 1833-1889
1862
Watercolour over pencil
Gift of J. Ross Robertson
Baldwin Collection of Canadiana
William George Richardson Hind was a British-born painter, watercolourist and illustrator.
Hind is known for his sketches and paintings produced on expeditions into the Northwest in the 1860s. His work captures scenes of Canadian wilderness, pioneer settlements and Indigenous peoples.
See more of Hind's work on our Digital Archive.
Red River cart train
William George Richardson Hind, 1833-1889
ca. 1862
Oil on commercial board
Gift of J. Ross Robertson
Baldwin Collection of Canadiana
Red River Carts were large two-wheeled wagons constructed without metal. Prior to the arrival of the railway it was the dominant mode of land transport for goods in the Northwest.
Lower Fort Garry
John Arnot Fleming, 1835-1876
1857
Watercolour over pencil
Gift of J. Ross Robertson
Baldwin Collection of Canadiana
John Arnot Fleming, brother of Sir Sanford Fleming, produced pencil and watercolour sketches while on expedition into Saskatchewan and Alberta. His work provides a glimpse of the prairies before settlement.
Constructed by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1830, this fur trade post replaced the original Fort Garry which was destroyed in a flood in 1826. It is now the site of the city of Winnipeg.
Confluence of the Little Souris and the Assiniboine
John Arnot Fleming, 1835-1876
1858
Pencil, watercolour, scraping out, on paper
Gift of J. Ross Robertson
Baldwin Collection of Canadiana
This view from the north bank of the Assiniboine, shows the spot where the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers meet.
Fleming accompanied Henry Youle Hind on an 1858 expedition down the Assiniboine and the Saskatchewan rivers and documented the journey with sketches like this one.
See more of Fleming's work on our Digital Archive.
Explore more!
Discover more landscapes in our past virtual exhibit: Capturing Canada and by searching our Digital Archive. A guide to the entire John Ross Robertson collection, Landmarks of Canada, is also available on our Digital Archive.
Video
In this video, Alan Walker discusses landscapes in the Canadian Documentary Art Collection, part of the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana.