Walk Through Town
by Donna L Munro
Title
Walk Through Town
Artist
Donna L Munro
Medium
Painting - Painting
Description
This is a drawing done by James Wharton in 1864. James Wharton was born April 5, 1853 at #7 Adlington St. in the county of Lancashire, Liverpool, England. He attended Sefton School. He loved to draw. He spent hours drawing the countryside and architecture around him. His work appears to be an extension of a school art program. He did sketches, and in a few of these he made use of pointillism which was just new at that time. He did most of his drawing when he was 11 and 12.
When James grew up, he became a railroad engineer. He married Margaret Orme. He and his family came to North America. His family arrived in New York in the month of March, 1882. The trip on the ship took 14 days, and his wife was never so sick. After the boat trip, he and his wife boarded a train headed for Portland, Oregon, USA. His trip to Portland to join a friend was rerouted when they met a land agent on the train. That land agent helped James pick his homestead property from a land map of the new development near Brandon, Manitoba. So, James and Margaret rerouted their trip to Canada.
They traveled by boat up the Red River to Winnipeg, Manitoba and then up the Assiniboine River to Brandon, Manitoba. They got a team of oxen and a wagon in Brandon and travelled 20 miles to their homestead. They settled in the municipality of Oakland 5 miles from the little town of Nesbitt. James did two jobs: farming and working at the Gregory Mill on the Souris River which was 3 miles from their homestead.
James was injured in a farming accident in 1904. He was carrying a bag of oats on his shoulder down from the loft of the granary when a step on the ladder broke and he fell backwards onto a set of heavy farm scales. He landed on his back and was badly injured. He was unconscious when they found him. James� family lifted and brought him to the house. The doctors did not seem to be able to help him. James lived for 2 more years, and slept in a chair to keep comfortable. He died January 7, 1906 at the age of 52 years, nine months.
James left behind drawings he had made in England. These drawings were preserved and are a very tangible link with our grandfather we never knew and to his childhood home. These words were written by my grandmother (Donna L. Munro's grandmother). I have restored, enhanced, colorized, repaired perspective, and prepared this art for print in 2011.
Okay, as an update, I restored the drawing. Then, I painted this. This is due for a refresh. I will be adding or quality checking I have adequate mat size on this. And then, I will revisit pricing. I am into marble. I may add a marble background. It just looks cool.
Uploaded
November 19th, 2010
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Comments (2)
Don Struke
Donna, I'm not sure which is more fascinating, the fact that your great-great-grandfather's art from his childhood survived for you to give it so much loving new life, or his life story that you share with us. Both, I think, are marvelous to see.
Donna L Munro replied:
Hi Don. Thank you for this comment. I feel like the process of doing the restorations has helped me know James Wharton. I am in awe too the art has made it to this point. There were prairie fires, travelling on wagons, snowstorms, and unsavory storage conditions. My grandma was the keeper of these images. Now, I am. Thanks :)
Sorin Apostolescu
Excellent drawing !
Donna L Munro replied:
Hi Sorin. Thank you. My favorite part of this restoration was finding the people in the shadows. There's 7 people in the drawing doing what you might expect in an English town: visiting, having coffee and watching the main road, returning from shopping, smoking, and heading further up the path. Thanks for your comment.