by Amy Zoethout | Oct 11, 2023 | Artefacts, Blog, Media Releases/Announcements, Museum News
A George Agnew Reid painting has returned to Huron County thanks to a donation of the painting The Homeseekers Fording the Credit to the Huron County Museum.
Homeseekers Fording the Credit was recently donated to the Museum from the Perkins Bull Collection. Most of the collection’s archival holdings were donated to the Region of Peel Archives, who recognized the connection to Huron County and reached out to the Museum seeking a new home for the piece. The painting was received by the Museum in early October and is now on display in the upper Agricultural Hall.
George Agnew Reid was a Canadian artist, painter, and influential educator who is best known as a genre painter, depicting scenes from ordinary life which were largely inspired by his early memories of Huron County. Born in 1860 on his family’s farm in Wingham, Reid briefly apprenticed with an architect before studying at the Ontario School of Art, Toronto, in 1879. He then studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where he was a protégé of Thomas Eakins. He later became interested in mural painting, and in 1897, founded the Society of Mural Decorators in Toronto with Frederick Challener, William Cruickshank, and Edmund Wyly Grier. In 1903, with the help of others, he founded the Arts and Crafts Society of Canada, which became known as the Canadian Society of Applied Art in 1905.
In the 1930s, William Perkins Bull, a lawyer and financier, was injured in Chicago and came back to Toronto to recuperate. During this time, he amassed a large selection of Canadian art, including The Homeseekers Fording the Credit, which is based on one of Reid’s landmark works, The Homeseekers, an historical presentation of pioneering days that uses the Maitland River as its backdrop.
“Bull had, by the 1930s, begun a special Peel Memorial Collection at Brampton, to which Canadian artists were asked to contribute examples of their work painted in Peel County. Since The Homeseekers has a setting not unlike that of Peel County, Bull asked Reid to donate the original to this collection but since it was set into the wall of the artist’s studio-workshop, Reid decided that he could not part with it. Instead, he painted a replica.” – George Reid biography.
The Huron County Museum wishes to thank the Perkins Bull Collection for generously donating this painting to its collection, the Region of Peel Archives for coordinating this donation, and TOTAL Fine Arts for safely delivering the painting to Huron County.
Installed in the Museum’s permanent exhibit space, visitors can enjoy the painting during regular visits to the Museum.
by Amy Zoethout | Mar 4, 2022 | Exhibits, Media Releases/Announcements, Special Events
The Huron County Museum is very pleased to host The Ribbon Skirt Project: Creating & Gifting a Cultural Connection, a collection of more than 215 ribbon skirts which will be on display throughout the Museum from March 12-April 10, 2022.
The Ribbon Skirt Project was started by Miss Kettle and Stony Point Jr., Jaylynn Wolfe, in July 2021. Knowing that owning a ribbon skirt was important, but difficult for many, Jaylynn, along with her mother, set out to make hundreds of ribbon skirt kits and invited volunteer sewers to help. The goal of the project was to create 215 skirts to represent the first number of unmarked graves identified in British Columbia at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. They quickly exceeded that goal, with more than 215 Ribbon Skirts being gifted to the project from all over North America. Each skirt will be gifted to a youth on Jaylynn’s First Nation of Kettle and Stony Point.
“The hope of the project is that a child will take hold of their ribbon skirt so close to their heart that their connection to their culture will start their journey,” said Jaylynn. “This project gives an opportunity for this cultural connection to happen and allows for all youth to participate.”
Before the Ribbon Skirts journey to the youth of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, they will be on display at the Huron County Museum where the public is invited to see this beautiful collection of work. The skirts will be displayed throughout the Museum in groupings that showcase the Seven Grandfather Teachings, the Clans of Kettle and Stony Point, Water is Life, Spirit Horses, The Creation Story, The Three Sisters, The Medicine Wheel, and Floral imagery, as well as a display to bring awareness to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The exhibit is open to the public during regular Museum hours of operation. The public is also invited to meet Jaylynn, who will be available to answer questions about the Ribbon Skirt Project. She will be onsite at the Museum on Saturday, March 12, Sunday, March 20 and 27, and Sunday, April 3 and 10 from 1-4 p.m.
To celebrate the project, we will also be hosting a screening of the Indigenous film, Beans, on March 27. The film explores the 1990 Oka Crisis at Kanesatake, through the eyes of Tekehentahkhwa (nicknamed “Beans”), a young Mohawk girl whose perspective on life is radically changed by these events.
by Amy Zoethout | Sep 24, 2021 | Exhibits, Media Releases/Announcements, Uncategorized
Unidentified portrait from Brussels. 20150064026
Those with ancestors who lived in Huron County in the 19th and 20th centuries might be able to help the Huron County Museum solve hundreds of mysteries by identifying some of the ‘forgotten’ faces in its new temporary exhibit Forgotten: People and Portraits of the County.
Opening to the public on Monday, Sept. 27, Forgotten features photographs from the Museum Archives that were taken in Huron County by local photographers, but the identity of the people pictured are unknown. The Museum hopes that through sharing these unidentified photos, the public will have the opportunity to help match some of these anonymous faces with names.
Unidentified portrait from Wingham – A0010012006
In addition to the exhibit at the Huron County Museum in Goderich, the public can further access this collection of forgotten portraits from home, both online through the Museum’s website and through a Forgotten exhibit Facebook group where members are invited to comment or share their own ‘forgotten’ Huron County faces from their own collections. Those who are able to help identify any of the individuals in the images are encouraged to contact the Museum at museum@huroncounty.ca Please be sure to include the object number for the photo.
Forgotten will also go behind the camera and focus on the commercial photographers who captured these striking moments of history. The images featured in the exhibit date from the 1860s to the 1920s and are a testament to the talents of studio photographers from towns and villages across Huron County, including: Wingham, Brussels, Blyth, Goderich, Clinton, Seaforth, Hensall, and Exeter. The Museum has recreated a photo studio from the time period as part of the exhibit, and visitors will be invited to step inside the studio to create their own portrait. To ensure these portraits do not get forgotten, participants are encouraged to share their images online by tagging the Museum @HuronCountyMuseum using the hashtag #ForgottenExhibit. When shared and tagged online, photos will be entered into a contest to win a portrait session with a local photographer.
Forgotten is open to the public during the Museum’s regular hours of operation and is included with regular admission, which is free for Museum members and Huron County Library card holders. For more information about Museum hours, please visit www.HuronCountyMuseum.ca.
Unidentified portrait from Goderich – 20140004010
by Amy Zoethout | Jun 29, 2021 | Blog, Image highlights, Media Releases/Announcements
Livia Picado Swan, Huron County Archives assistant, is working on the Henderson Collection this summer.
Thanks to a grant from the Young Canada Works Heritage Programme, The Digitized Henderson Gallery is getting a new home! The original photographs, digitized by former staff member Emily Beliveau and funded by the Government of Ontario, will be moved to a website that can be continuously edited by museum staff, making it easier to update information about the photos as we learn more about them. We will also be adding upwards of 600 photos to the online gallery that have never been shared before!
A992.0003.281- Commandos at Sky Harbour, 1943
The gallery displays photographs taken by J. Gordon Henderson, a Goderich-based photographer who documented the classes and airmen at some of the Huron County’s Royal Air Force bases. The collection has more than just portraits, however. Throughout the summer, I will be sharing some interesting finds as I go through the 600 photographs that are yet to be digitized and posted to the gallery. Some of the training activities, weddings and celebrations at the bases have been documented, and give us a peek into the experiences of these airmen and their families.
To take a look at the website, visit https://kiosk.huroncounty.ca/exhibits/henderson-digitization-project/ . Keep in mind that the website is still in development and will continue to be updated throughout the summer. I can’t wait to share some interesting photos and stories with you all!
by Amy Zoethout | May 26, 2021 | Media Releases/Announcements
Residents interested in helping to preserve and shape how local history is presented for the future can now make their voice heard. By joining the Museum’s Collection Committee, interested individuals will have a say in how the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol grows, expands and diversifies the stories shared through the Museum’s unique collection.
The County of Huron invites applications for open position(s) on the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol’s Collections Committee. The positions are for volunteer community members from Huron County. The committee welcomes applicants that represent different communities, backgrounds, age groups, and cultures across Huron County, including newcomers and generational residents. Volunteer terms are for one, two, or three years with the potential of two consecutive terms.
The Huron County Museum’s collection is built from community donations from people, homes and businesses across Huron, following a collections policy and mandate.
“This is a great opportunity for those who are passionate about Huron County’s ongoing history and heritage.” said Acting Director of Cultural Services Elizabeth French-Gibson “If you love material culture, and want to engage others with the memories, stories and community ties that can be evoked so powerfully by objects from the past then this is a great opportunity for you!”
The Collections Committee presents a volunteer opportunity that is short on time-commitment, but makes a long-term impact on how our community recognizes, prioritizes and preserves history close to home.
The purpose of the Collections Committee is to advise County Council with respect to matters pertaining to the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol collection. Recommendations include review of short and long-term planning regarding collections, site policies in relation to collection development, and requirements of the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries’ Museum standards.
“When I was a child, a visit to the pioneer museum, which is what we called it then, was a confirmation that you don’t throw anything out; there was a story or use to every item,” said Collections Committee member Rhea Hamilton-Seeger, who shared what this volunteer experience has taught her. “As a member of the Collections Committee, I now get to learn more of the stories and appreciate what people collect and donate. One of the criteria for items to be in the Collection is that they relate to our [Huron County] history. While I would like to keep everything, there are some unique pieces that simply don’t relate. The staff of the Huron County Museum and this committee work hard to ensure a home is secured where these items do relate. A very interesting committee to be a part of and I have been able to share some of the stories with friends and better understand my local museum and how it teaches us, and reminds us, of our history.”
Be an active part of the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol’s mission to engage our community in preserving, sharing, and fostering Huron County culture! The time commitment for volunteering is limited to attendance at committee meetings held every third month, generally on Tuesday mornings as scheduled by the Committee.
Those interested in applying for the volunteer position of Huron County Museum Collections Committee Member can submit a written application by Monday, June 28, 2021 to:
Acting Senior Curator
Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol
110 North St., Goderich, ON, N7A 2T8
museum [@] huroncounty.ca
To learn more about the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol’s collections:
by Amy Zoethout | Mar 29, 2021 | Media Releases/Announcements
Don’t miss out on seeing Reflections: The Life and Work of J.W. (Jack) McLaren, on at the Huron County Museum until April 30, 2021.
Praised by visitors as an “amazing show” featuring “spectacular” art and an “interesting slice of Huron County and beyond”, Reflections has drawn repeat visitors since opening at the Museum in October, 2020. The exhibit explores McLaren’s prolific career as an artist, illustrator, and performer, and features close to 100 pieces of his art on loan from the community.
Presented in partnership with the Huron County Historical Society, Reflections not only shares an incredible local collection of art, but also looks back on McLaren’s fascinating life, including his time in World War I where he performed as a member of the Dumbells Comedy Troupe, and his membership in the Toronto Arts and Letters Club where he became associated with the Group of Seven.
For those unable to visit the exhibit in person, the Huron County Museum will be hosting Jack McLaren: A Soldier of Song, a virtual event that can be enjoyed from home on April 9, 2021.
This event will feature a presentation and performance by Jason Wilson, musician and author of Soldiers of Song: The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties. Wilson’s performance is based on the original works of the Dumbells, a Canadian concert party that entertained the troops on the front lines in World War I and featured Jack McLaren.
To register for this event, or to explore more ways to enjoy the Reflections exhibit from home, visit: https://www.huroncountymuseum.ca/reflections/
The public is invited to book a visit to catch the exhibit by calling 519.524.2686. The museum is open from 10:00AM-4:30PM on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10:00AM-8:00PM on Thursday, and 1:00PM-4:30PM on Saturday. Reflections is included with regular admission, or free for museum members and Huron County Library cardholders.
