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Far
from the wild peaks of the Canadian Rockies,
Catharine Robb and Peter Whyte met at the Boston Museum
School of Fine Art in 1927. This was a time when
Canadian landscape painting was under-going change. They
married in 1930, and made Banff and the Canadian
mountains their home. A studio was built one year later
where they would soon live and paint the grandeur of
their beloved mountains.
The
Whytes often painted in the company of outstanding
artists. Contemporaries Carl Rungius and Belmore Brown
were influential with their ideas and use of colour. The
Whytes responded with passion to their approach of
depicting the form and colour present in Western Canada.
Their commitment to painting was wholehearted —
leading them to study remote mountain stretches and
unpredictable skies.
Catharine
and Peter travelled extensively and continued to paint
and draw through the 50s and 60s until Peter's death in
1966. Catharine then turned her concerns to the
community, travel, skiing and conservation. Their
interest in culture and understanding of philanthropy
led to the development of the Whyte Museum of the
Canadian Rockies, first opened in 1968. Catharine
remained involved until her death in 1979.
Rays of light and swirling
clouds often form the focus in Catharine's sketches.
Peter constructed obscure mountain views with somber
mystic hues of blues, browns and greens. Together, their
life's work provides for us a sense of place.
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