Edward Scrope Shrapnel Explained

Edward Scrope Shrapnel
Birth Name:Edward Scrope Shrapnel
Birth Date:1845 1, df=y
Birth Place:Alverstoke, Hampshire, England
Death Place:Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality:English-Canadian
Field:Painter

Edward Scrope Shrapnel (1845 - 1920) was an English-born Canadian artist. After an earlier period spent in Quebec, his family settled in Orillia, Ontario. Having learned the basic art of drawing in the military, Shrapnel became adept in watercolour, his preferred medium. In the 1870s, he began contributing works to the Ontario Society of Artists. He was elected as an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1880. After a five-year stint as a drawing teacher for a women's college, he moved west to Victoria, British Columbia. Shrapnel was president of Victoria's first art association. His painting subject matter included landscape, still lifes, and genre, often incorporating scenes from Ontario and British Columbia.

Biography

Shrapnel was born on 12 January 1845, in Alverstoke, Hampshire.[1] His grandfather was Henry Shrapnel, inventor of the shrapnel shell. His father was Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel, a military officer with the rank of captain who was variously posted to India, Ireland, and Bermuda. In 1855, Edward's father was assigned to Quebec, his family accompanying him. Here young Edward first cultivated his love of the outdoors.[2] Carrying on the family tradition, Edward served with the Victoria Rifles of Quebec for seven months in 1865 - 1866, helping to repel Irish Fenian raids.[3] [4] As a consequence of his officer training, Shrapnel learned how to draw accurately.[3] After the border tensions eased, the Shrapnel family returned to Salisbury.[2] In 1868, Edward married Edith Mary Neale,[5] and they eventually had six daughters and one son.[6] The family soon moved back to Canada, this time settling near Orillia, Ontario. Henry Shrapnel was a talented amateur artist, and Edward became proficient in the use of watercolour, which became his favourite medium.[7] In Ontario, Edward participated each fall in duck and deer hunting, and on occasion engaged in wild pigeon shoots.[8] His funeral notice described him as an "ardent sportsman".[9]

In 1872, Shrapnel was elected a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, and he contributed works to that organization until 1892. He became an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts when it was formed in 1880. For five years during the 1880s he held the position of drawing master at the Ontario Ladies' College in Whitby.[7] [10] In 1889, one of his paintings of dead game won first prize at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition.[11] Influenced by other artists who had travelled west on the newly opened Canadian Pacific Railway, Shrapnel moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where he spent the rest of his life.[7] Shrapnel served as president of Victoria's first art association.[10] He was a member of the British Campaigners' Association as a result of his Canadian military service, having reached the rank of colonel.[3] [6] In 1890, he contributed 18 paintings to the Vancouver Art Association's first annual exhibition.[12] Shrapnel was the illustrator of Upper Canada Sketches (1898), where his twenty scenes were lithographed in brilliant colour.[7] [13] At the time of his death, several of his works were displayed in the British Columbia Parliament Buildings.[6] He was interred at Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria.[9]

Shrapnel's subject matter encompassed landscape, genre, and still life.[14] His early works often depict the Muskoka region of Ontario,[10] and later of British Columbia.[14] Animals and indigenous peoples figure prominently, and he painted still lifes of fish. Some of his winter landscapes in oil are reminiscent of Cornelius Krieghoff.[10] He eschewed the dramatic and picturesque, managing to avoid the rigid strictures of composition and style as conventionally practiced.[7] Today, Shrapnel is best known for his watercolours of scenes across Canada.[15]

Exhibitions

Collections

References

Notes and References

  1. Bosher 2010, pp. 673, 675.
  2. Thompson 1976, p. 158
  3. Bosher 2010, p. 674.
  4. News: Untitled. Vancouver Daily World. 30 June 1900. 9 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211211025827/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90167456/edward-scrope-shrapnel-military/. 11 December 2021. live. .
  5. Wiltshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1916. Reference Number: 883/22. - via Ancestry.ca.
  6. News: Was Resident Here for 30 Years. Victoria Daily Colonist. 26 September 1920. 7. Internet Archive.
  7. Thompson 1976, p. 159.
  8. Thompson 1976, p. 157.
  9. News: Untitled. The Victoria Daily Times. 27 September 1920. funeral notice. 5 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205185825/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67497241/funeral-of-edward-scrope-shrapnel-27/. 5 December 2021. live. .
  10. Harper 1970, p. 287.
  11. News: Artistic Paintings. The Victoria Daily Times. Victoria, British Columbia. 25 October 1889. 6 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211207011717/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90163055/first-prize-toronto-industrial/. 7 December 2021. live. .
  12. Web site: Sim. Gary. Edward Scrope Shrapnel. British Columbia Artists. Sim Publishing. 5 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20200815101410/http://www.sim-publishing.com/bca/shrapnel.htm. 15 August 2020. live.
  13. Book: Conant, Thomas. Upper Canada Sketches. William Briggs. Toronto. 1898.
  14. McKendry 1997, p. 189.
  15. Web site: Edward Scrope Shrapnel. Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. 4 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205021457/https://aggv.ca/emuseum/people/4295/edward-scrope-shrapnel/objects. 5 December 2021. live.
  16. McMann 1988, p. 352.
  17. McMann 1981, p. 375.
  18. News: Wildlife focus of show. Nanaimo Daily News. 1 March 1988. 28 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220129002146/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93675395/wildlife-focus-of-show-edward-scrope/. 29 January 2022. live. .
  19. Web site: ROM collections: Shrapnel. Royal Ontario Museum. 4 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205023114/https://collections.rom.on.ca/search/shrapnel. 5 December 2021. live.
  20. Allodi 1974, no. 1523.
  21. Web site: Search:Edward Scrope Shrapnel. Orillia Museum of Art & History. 13 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230814004123/https://orilliamuseum.catalogaccess.com/advanced-search?includedFields=Objects&Creator+%28Artist%2FPhotographer%2FAuthor%29=edward+scrope+shrapnel&page=1&size=10&withImages=false. 14 August 2023. live.
  22. Web site: Terech. Lisa. Around Henry House – Our Paintings in the Study. Oshawa Museum Blog. 30 August 2013. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220202223950/https://oshawamuseum.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/around-henry-house-our-paintings-in-the-study/. 2 February 2022. live.
  23. Web site: Collections:Shrapnel, Edward Scrope. mnbaq.org. 7 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20190701194622/https://collections.mnbaq.org/fr/artiste/600001599. 1 July 2019. live.
  24. Web site: Painting: "Seascape with Two Boats," Edward Scrope Shrapnel. Museum of Vancouver. 13 August 2023.
  25. Web site: Shrapnel, Edward Scrope, d. 1920. BC Archives. 28 January 2022.

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