The End of An Era by Robert Francis Michael McInnis
RFM McInnis
The End of An Era
eight serigraphs
each signed and numbered 44/100; unframed
14 x 12.5 in ( 35.6 x 31.8 cm ) ( each sheet )
Auction Estimate: $150.00 - $250.00
Price Realized $120.00
Sale date: December 10th 2024
Private Collection, Calgary
"MAJOR ROGERS FINDS HIS PASS." November 1882.
Major A.B. Rogers searched and searched to find a route through the mountains in order to build a railway. Today the pass through which the railway and highway run bears his name.
"BRIDGES AND PHOTOGRAPHERS"
Picturesque Pic River Bridge in Ontario during early construction of the railway across Canada in 1876 is the scene which attracts this early photographer’s camera. High bridges and tressels span the many rivers of the Maritimes, Ontario, the Prairies and the mountain gorges, making spectacular scenes for the modern photographer.
"THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR"
Precambrian rock, muskeg and the north shore of Lake Superior presented tougher construction problems for the railway builders than did the Rocky Mountains. This is Heron Bay in the early morning.
"THE LAST SPIKE"
Driving the last spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia marked the end of the railway construction and the beginning of an era of steam passenger service across the country. An ordinary spike was used, driven on the 7 November 1885, by Sir Sandford Fleming, Lord Strathcona.
"THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE"
Steam locomotives reigned supreme for many years, pulling both freight and passenger trains across Canada.
"RAILWAY HOTELS"
Almost every Canadian city could boast a railway hotel - designed and owned by the railway to serve the tourist brought in by train. This is the Château Frontenac in Québec City, built in the typical high roofed château style.
"THE ROYAL HUDSON"
Steaming out of Calgary, the Royal Hudson was so named because it once pulled the Royal train. It still operates today out of North Vancouver pulling special excursion trains of tourists.
"THE LAST CANADIAN. AN ERA ENDS."
A silver domed passenger train pauses at Medicine Hat, Alberta as the last Canadian Pacific operated passenger train known as “The Canadian” makes its way from Montreal to Vancouver. In less than ten years VIA’s “Canadian” made its last run marking an end of just over 100 years of passenger train on the route
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Robert Francis Michael McInnis
(1942)
RFM McInnis was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1942. After receiving a Diploma in Fine and Applied Arts in 1961 he spent five years in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a photographer. "It was the nearest to making pictures I could do and still earn a living in those days". Thus began a career of traveling and painting. McInnis has lived and painted in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. These experiences have provided McInnis an opportunity to get to know the history, the people, the terrain, and the art scene of most of Canada. During his stay in Calgary in the late 1970's he was commissioned to do portraits of the leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party which currently hang in the National Headquarters building in Ottawa. In 2006 he relocated to the city of Winnipeg. On November 16, 2017, McInnis was elected a fellow of the Canadian Geographical Society, the Society noting that the honour is a “form of recognition given [the artist’s] remarkable travels in Canada and stunning landscapes.” The artist finds inspiration in the city's locations and landscapes and has completed a series of paintings of views from his studio window.
