Niagara Falls, 1864

G. Blair Laing Limited, Toronto Collection of Jules and Fay Loeb, Ottawa Kaspar Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto

Dennis R. Reid, “Our Own Country Canada: Being an Account of the National Aspirations of the Principal Landscape Artists in Montreal and Toronto, 1860-1890”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1980, no. 2 as “Niagara in the Time of the Red Man”

Hilliard T. Goldfarb, “Expanding Horizons: Painting and Photography of American and Canadian Landscape 1860-1918”, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, 2009, page 35 Dennis R. Reid, “Our Own Country Canada: Being an Account of the National Aspirations of the Principal Landscape Artists in Montreal and Toronto, 1860-1890”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1980, page 38, reproduced page 39 William Notman, “North American Scenery, Being Selections from C.J. Way’s Studies, 1863-64”, Montreal, 1864, unpaginated, reproduced

Charles Jones Way was a keen watercolourist and a reflective man. He exemplified the trend towards naturalism during the 1860s and 1870s, during which time the artist grew in prominence. Way’s aim was to remain faithful to the landscape and display the grandeur of its rolling hills, oceans and horizons. The vast range of his subject matter mirrors Way’s talent across various medium, as the artist was a master of watercolour, oil, pastel, pen and chalk. Many Canadian and American painters of this period saw Niagara Falls as ‘subject par excellence’ within the domain of the sublime. According to Hilliard T. Goldfarb, “When eighteenth century writers thought of water as sublime phenomenon, they saw the ocean, the raging sea, that is, expanses of water stretching as far as the eye could see, horizontally. Niagara Falls, however, is a mass of water falling vertically, as apt to cause the holy terror.” Way presents a spectacular view of Niagara Falls in this commanding watercolour, expressing the immensity and force of nature. The beauty of the vista is sublime, evoking a sense of awe and trepidation at the roaring water of the falls, while vividly and serenely highlighting the majestic scale of Niagara Falls in stark contrast to the small figures. The three figures stand in wonderment at the crashing water, their senses overwhelmed with the sights and sounds before them. Way has captured a reverence for life without idealizing it. The fine details of the composition turn the landscape into a delicate tribute to life. The brilliant use of expressive light and nuanced, descriptive detail portrays a sense of sublime excitement and is a testament to Way’s incomparable skill at capturing the essence of a time and place. During his career, Way worked with the well-respected Canadian photographer, William Notman. Way’s paintings were photographed for inclusion in many of Notman’s books. Thomas King expressed high praise for Way in the foreword to Notman’s 1863 volume of photography, writing: “Perhaps there has been no artist, certainly no watercolour painter, resident in Canada, who has given to us so much variety of subject... and has so happily caught the peculiarities of our Canadian landscape.” Following the popularity of this book, Notman published a volume of twelve photographic reproductions of Way’s work in 1864, entitled “North American Scenery, Being Selections from C.J. Way’s Studies, 1864-64”. “Niagara Falls” was included in this volume, further celebrating the painter’s monumental depiction of the natural wonder. “What was the great appeal of Way’s work?” asks Dennis Reid. “One cannot say with much degree of certainty, as few of his early works have, as yet, come into public collections. But from the evidence of the Notman photos it was chiefly, at this point in his career, a quality of drama. There is a large watercolour in the Loeb Collection in Toronto, “Niagara in the Time of the Red Man” of 1864, in which the sky, in the fiery colours of the great English Romantic, Turner, races as fiercely as the plummeting waters. Way has observed closely and displays an evident concern to describe the water in an exact, naturalistic way. But the force of his imagery lies in the great, broad movements of the composition. It is equally so with the Notman photos of his sepias. Way is an impressive craftsman, who controls tone and texture expertly, orchestrating each image like a small symphony in tribute to nature’s power and energy. That would certainly have appealed.”