Church at Mattawa (1947), 1947

Collection of the Artist Jack Bush Art Estate Private Collection, Toronto

Jack Bush, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, November 13, 2014 – February 22, 2015, no. 24

Jack Bush, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2014, reproduced page 119, listed page 247, no. 24 (notes execution date range of “17-23 October 1947”) “History of the Mattawa General Hospital 1878-1978”, Ladies of the Mattawa Hospital Auxiliary, Mattawa, Ontario, 1978, pages 4-18

Mattawa is located on the banks of the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers, on the foothills of the Laurentians. This area has long been an important region, occupied by The Algonquins in the 17th and 18th centuries, ultimately developing into the bustling town of Mattawa, meaning “Meeting of the Waters”. The Oblate Fathers occupied the area surrounding Mattawa, erecting the first Catholic Church, St. Anne’s, in 1863 and establishing a permanent mission in 1869. It soon became evident that with the growing lumber industry and the Hudson’s Bay Company Trading post, that the population was going to rise, and a hospital would be needed. The Mattawa General Hospital was founded in 1878, a modest structure of five beds, with a small chapel on the first floor for the use of the public. The hospital was initially staffed by the Grey Nuns of the Cross, represented by Sister St. Alexis, Sister Eudoxie and Sister Melanie, who made an arduous multi-day journey to Mattawa. Expansion of the hospital was soon required, with the Oblate Fathers purchasing land along the Ottawa River to keep livestock and grow fruits and vegetables. As the Mattawa Hospital was the only hospital for hundreds of miles, it was an important facility serving the community and surrounding area. Unfortunately, in 1885 the hospital was burned to the ground just before an expansion was complete. In 1889, the construction of a stone church to replace the current St. Anne’s Catholic Church began with the assembly of the striking twin steeple. In 1901 another fire destroyed the Mattawa Hospital and it took substantial fundraising to establish sufficient finds to rebuild. The new structure was erected as a two-story red-brick building, with the capacity for 52 beds. A fire caused by lightening destroyed the St. Anne’s Catholic Church in 1959, while in 1966 another blaze at the Mattawa General Hospital partly destroyed the building. Again, the community joined together to refurbish the hospital. Recently, in 2010, the hospital was demolished amidst great controversy after a new hospital structure was completed. Jack Bush has captured a historical icon of the Mattawa community in his 1947 painting “Church at Mattawa”, preserving a piece of the legacy of the industrious Oblate Fathers and Grey Nuns of the Cross. We sincerely thank Kim Bush of LoveJack.ca for providing her assistance with this painting.