Collection search - John Elliott Woolford collection [graphic material]

Record information – Brief
1
John Elliott Woolford collection [graphic material]

Hierarchical level:

Collection

Date:

[ca. 1819-1855].

Reference:

R11269-0-4-E

Type of material:

Art

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

213965

Context of this record:

Show detail Hide detail

John Elliott Woolford collection
Link to this record

Add to My Research

Link to this record

This link identifies the web page describing this particular record. Unlike the temporary link in your browser, this link will allow you to access, and reference, this page in the future. To link to this descriptive record, copy and paste the URL where ever needed (wiki, blog, document).

Sign in

Sign in to start saving records using My Research

Sign in
Record information – Details

Collection includes:

69 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

[ca. 1819-1855].

Place of creation:

Canada

Extent:

44 drawings : line and wash in sepia, heightened with white.
5 prints : aquatint and etching, hand-coloured.
2 watercolours.

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

Show detail Hide detail

Collection comprises works by John Elliott Woolford (1778-1866). Woolford was in the entourage of Lord Dalhousie, as his official draughtsman, when he arrived in Nova Scotia in 1816 as the new lieutenant governor. The set of five aquatint prints were executed by Woolford when he accompanied Lord Dalhousie on either his 1819 or his 1821 tour of Upper and Lower Canada. An album of sketches, entitled "American Sketches", documents spots on Dalhousie's 1821 tour to Lake Superior. Two watercolours, acquired in 2005, depict the City of Fredericton from the opposite shore of the St. John River and Officer's Barracks, Toronto.

Provenance:

Show detail Hide detail

Woolford, John Elliott, 1778-1866

Biography/Administrative history:

Show detail Hide detail

Woolford, John Elliott, 1778-1866 : John Elliott Woolford (1778-1866) was an artist, topographical draughtsman and architect. At a young age, he served in the campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte's army in Egypt. A short time later, he accompanied Lord Dalhousie to Canada, as his official draughtsman, when Dalhousie was appointed lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. Dalhousie, in pursuit of a first-hand lay of the land, was well known for his travels throughout the colony. During the period 1819-1821, Woolford recorded many impressions of sites they visited, several of which were reproduced as aquatints. In 1821, he travelled with Dalhousie when he toured Lower and Upper Canada to Lake Superior. A sketchbook from this journey comprises drawings of over forty-four sites, with each location identified by the artist.

In 1823, Woolford was appointed assistant barrack-master at Saint John and later barrack-master general in Fredericton. During a long career there, he was responsible for the design of a new government house, a building for King's College and a county jail. He continued his outdoor sketching and, in August 1842, he exhibited with other fellow Fredericton artists in the first New Brunswick Art Exhibition. After his retirement in 1859, he continued living in Fredericton until his death in 1866.

Finding aid:

Show detail Hide detail

Graphic (Electronic) Works have been item-level catalogued on the Minisis database. (90: Open)

Additional information:

Show detail Hide detail

Custodial history:

2 watercolours were acquired by family descent from the artist. The album of works relating to a tour of Upper Canada was acquired by Lord Dalhousie, and then passed by family descent to the vendor.

Exhibitions note:

Exhibition Title: The Dalhousie Repatriation. Curator: Jim Burant, Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, Nova Scotia; 1986.01.28 - 1986. 04.01 (Sketches in the Canada's by John E. Woolford: 1 bound album - 44 wash drawings of Upper and Lower Canada taken during a tour with Dalhousie)

Associated material note:

The Nova Scotia Museum acquired an album by Woolford comprising a series of sketches made on tours throughout Nova Scotia when Lord Dalhousie was lieutenant governor there from 1816-1820. Another album of watercolours is owned by Dalhousie University, as is a set of proof prints of the 1819 set.

Related material:

One print by Woolford is in the Winkworth Collection of Canadiana.

Source:

Private

Related control no.:

Show detail Hide detail

121-080180-9
1979-009 PIC
1993-335 X DAP
2005-00041-8
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Show detail Hide detail

Graphic (art)

[Consultation90 Open]
Researchers must be accompanied by an art archivist.

Volume [R11269]

[Consultation 90 Open]

1 Item no. assigned by LAC 1--2

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [1993-335]

[Consultation 90 Open]

A207-02 Item no. assigned by LAC 1

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [1979-009] BK-253

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

Show detail Hide detail

Copyright expired. No restrictions on access or on use for publication.

You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.

Cannot visit us on site? You can purchase a copy to be sent to you. Some restrictions may apply.