A Rocky Mountain Packet

Collection of General Motors, Oshawa, Ontario Private Collection, Ontario

Editorial Department, “The Toronto Star”, Arthur Heming Fonds, National Gallery of Canada Archives, undated, unpaginated William G. Colgate, “Arthur Heming, Recorder of the North”, Fine Art Gallery, Eaton’s, 1933, unpaginated

Arthur Heming painted from experience, having spent many years involved in lumbering, mining, railroading, big game hunting and the rugged lifestyle of living on the land. Heming embarked on expeditions into the wilderness to capture romantic scenes of adventure for illustrations in books and publications. Life in the backcountry captured his interest, not in terms of the sentimentality of the picturesque countryside or forest, but in the power of nature. Heming wrote of his inspiration to explore and paint the wilds of Canada. He referenced the brutal death of his uncle as the impetus in his imagination towards “forever wondering what is going on in the great northern forest not just this week, this month, or this season, but what is actually happening day by day, throughout the cycle of an entire year? It was that thought that fascinated me.” According to a letter dated 1955 from Mr. W.E. Austin, Public Relations Manager of General Motors (GM), to Mr. T.E. Lee, three paintings by Heming were hanging in the offices of the Senior Executives of GM. “A Royal Mountain Packet” was one of these paintings, acquired for a calendar series that GM designed to exhibit different methods of transportation. Depicted with vivid colour, sublime light, and exaggerated drama, “A Royal Mountain Packet” illustrates the idea of a traditional passenger boat carrying mail or cargo - in this instance a canoe - slicing through rushing water. Close by, a large bear is feasting on its catch. Heming does not belong to a particular school, movement or group in the sphere of Canadian art history. According to William Colgate, Heming was very much an individualist: “Heming paints with a broad elimination of superfluous details, preserving in his design a quiet simplicity, and presenting a vivid, moving panorama of essential truths.”