BANFF – Bison have faced decades of struggle to avoid extinction, and Dwayne Harty has reconized and illustrated their story.
Through his paintings of the plains, woods and the European bison, and their habitats, Harty shares a story of the keystone species in one of the newest exhibits at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies that opened on Saturday (Oct. 26).
“They’re such an emblematic species,” said Harty. “I put together an idea in New Jersey that, maybe if I could find a way, I could develop an exhibition depicting all three of the bison, which, to the best of my knowledge, has never been done.”
Among the vast collection that lines the gallery walls is a painting of Banff’s own bison and a depiction of the herd’s first autumn in Panther Valley after being reintroduced in 2017.
“It keeps the notion [alive] that conservation is an important part of our society,” said Harty. “We can see it, touch it, we can hike, we can walk, we can see the beauty that fills the soul.”
For Harty to take on this project he has been painting in the bison’s habitat, watching their stoic movement, studying traits and consulting with experts like Canmore’s Karsten Heuer, a friend of Harty and pivotal conservationist in the reintroduction of Banff’s bison.
“That essence of what’s called animal character is really important in painting and sculpting wildlife,” he said. “[It can be] as simple as sitting down after dinner watching a wildlife documentary to see how they move and how they behave as a herd or as individuals.”
Many of the paintings are without the large beasts in frame, but through looking at them one can imagine what a large herd might look like moving through the painting. Many of the sole landscape paintings were done on location by Harty.
“You can imagine the bison in those differing landscapes, whether it’s Poland or New Mexico… or as far north as Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta,” said Harty.
Alongside his paintings, Harty also has bronze sculptures he fashioned of the three bison species.
Across the gallery in the Rummel Room is the work of Carl Rungius, one of Harty’s inspirations in wildlife painting.
“All the people today that paint wildlife paintings, this was ground zero, so everybody always has looked up to him for inspiration,” said Rod Green, who is on the Whyte Museum’s board of directors.
Rungius’ work is part of the second newest exhibit titled Capturing the Wild. Both his and Harty’s exhibits will be on display until Jan. 19.
After receiving an invite from notorious local outfitter and guide Jimmy Simpson to join a hunt, Rungius came to the Banff area to paint the wildlife in the Canadian Rockies. After the first trip, Rungius kept returning to Banff to paint until his death in 1959.
Through his connection with Simpson, he befriended locals, and painted all over the Rockies with other artists like the Whyte Museum’s founders, Peter and Catharine Whyte.
For Anne Ewen, the Whyte Museum’s chief curator of art and heritage, a large painting of Lake McArthur stands out to her because of one story.
The painting was originally hanging in Hawaii at one of Catharine Whyte’s friend’s homes, but she felt the art belonged in Banff. After being shipped back, and sitting in customs for too long, the art was infested with bugs and had to be completely restored.
But years later it’s now on full display in the museum.
“I think everybody who saw his paintings were just blown away by the colouration, the structure. I mean, look at the way he’s constructed these rocks,” said Ewen pointing to a painting of bighorn sheep standing on a mountain.
