Artist

Maclure, Samuel

Title

Country Hillside

Technique

watercolour

Date

1900

Dimensions

10.0cm height x 14.5cm width

Type

print

Accession Number

2014.12.14

Collection

Permanent Collection

Gift of Harold and Linda Kalman

Samuel Maclure was a prominent architect in the early 1900s who helped shape the architectural face of B.C.’s capital city, Victoria, and Vancouver Island, but who also played an important early role in the creation of an arts community in the area. In 1890, Maclure became one of the earliest artists to exhibit in Vancouver, showing a number of paintings in the First Annual Exhibition of the Vancouver Art Association. That same year, he also began giving watercolour painting lessons which enabled him to socialize with the best of Victoria’s society. He took this opportunity to give lectures on the Arts and Crafts philosophies and writings of such proponents of the movement as William Morris. The 1890s saw an unprecedented interaction among Canadian artists working in various disciplines. Communities of interest and friendships resulted in cooperative projects by painters, sculptors, authors, musicians, architects, and artisans working with shared ideals and inspiration. In 1909, Maclure became a founding member of the Vancouver Island Arts and Crafts Society, a group which his contemporary and friend, renowned Canadian artist Emily Carr, became a member of in 1913. One quarter of the Society’s members were Maclure’s architecture clients, and, as the social elite, the Society greatly influenced the tastes and styles of the families on the island.