Nipigon River, 18 miles North of Red Rock, circa 1867-1871

Private Collection, Oakville

Henry C. Campbell, The Art of William Armstrong: Early Days on the Great Lakes, Toronto/Montreal, 1971, pages 8, 88-89

William Armstrong first travelled to the Nipigon region in 1867 and 1869 as a member of a government survey party. At the time, only the Hudson’s Bay Company agents who ran trading posts and the local Native Peoples were knowledgeable about traversing the area and its surroundings. “Nipigon River, 18 Miles North of Red Rock” is among a collection of works executed by Armstrong on these trips to better understand the landscape of Canada, which were also the works from which the artist created illustrations for The Canadian Illustrated News in 1870. These illustrations, as well as Armstrong’s drawings and sketches of the Red River Expedition, earned him recognition as an artist and Armstrong was soon made an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy.