Mary Riter Hamilton in the Great War

Mary Riter Hamilton produced the largest known collection of Great War art, yet she is still virtually unknown today.

“I came out because I felt I must come, and if I did not come at once it would be too late.”

Mary Riter Hamilton in 1922

The Canadian artist had just completed a two-and-a-half-year solo expedition to Europe’s postwar battlefields. In that time, she created nearly 350 paintings and drawings, the largest known collection of Great War art.

Mary Riter Hamilton died on 5 April 1954 in Vancouver, at the age of 86. Her body was transported to Port Arthur, Ontario and buried beside her husband.

Mary Riter Hamilton’s grave unmarked from her death in 1954 until 2008. Thanks to former military officer Fred Johnson and others who donated, the war artist now has a headstone in Riverside Cemetery, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Mr. Johnson has served on the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment’s Senate and as a volunteer with the Thunder Bay Military Museum.

Canadian War Arts Program

The Canadian War Memorials, the Great War art collection

The Canadian War Memorials, the First World War art collection, consists of nearly 1,000 works by over 100 artists, more than a third of them Canadian. The collection the brainchild of Sir Max Aitken, later Lord Beaverbrook. Aitken’s media interests made him ideally suited to the task of documenting the war in film, photograph, and print.

Major Richard Jack

Major Richard Jack Canada’s first official war artist.

This is a photograph of his painting “The Second Battle of Ypres” the first official painting that Lord Beaverbrook commissioned.

It shows the chaotic scene at the Second Battle of Ypres.

As wounded are evacuated, a wounded lieutenant attempts to rally the troops, while soldiers fire rifles and a colt machine gun at the advancing German troops.

Eric Henri Kennington

Eric Henri Kennington produced 170 charcoal, pastel and watercolours before returning to London in March 1918. Whilst in France, Kennington admitted to a Casualty Clearing Station at Tincourt-Boucly to be treated for trench fever.

There he made a number of sketches and drawings of men injured during the bombardment that preceded the German 1918 Spring Offensive. Some of these drawings became the basis of the completed painting Gassed and Wounded.

16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish)

In November 1918 Kennington commissioned by the Canadian War Memorials Scheme to depict Canadian troops in Europe. That month he returned to France as a temporary first lieutenant attached to the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish), CEF. The eight months Kennington spent in Germany, Belgium and France, working for the Canadians, resulted in some seventy drawings.

The Conquerors by Eric Henri Kennington. Originally titled The Victims renamed after objections from Lieutenant-Colonel Cyrus Wesley Peck, the commanding officer of 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish), CEF.

Canadian War Memorials Fund

In November 1916, Aitken’s new organization, the Canadian War Memorials Fund, a spin-off from the Canadian War Records Office, commissioned a huge 3.7 x 6-metre painting from British society artist Richard Jack. A single event, the horrific German gas attack on the Canadians during the Second Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915, convinced Aitken that the war should also be documented by art.

Sir Edmund Walker

While supportive of Beaverbrook’s initiative, Sir Edmund Walker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada, and Eric Brown, the institution’s director, sought to ensure that the war art program truly reflected Canada’s role in the conflict. They worried that the program recommended too many commissions for British artists.

Riter Hamilton fought hard to serve as one of Canada’s official war artists during the war. Time and again, rebuffed by those in charge of the Canadian War Arts Program, particularly Edmund Walker, chair of the National Gallery’s advisory board.

A Y Jackson

In 1917, Beaverbrook hired the future Group of Seven painter, A.Y. Jackson, then a soldier recovering from wounds he had received in June 1916. Jackson’s seemingly cavalier reaction to the front after his return there as a war artist belies the tragic content of many of his painting: “same old war…same old soldiers sticking it out, fed up but cheerful and doing impossible things, same old mud and shell holes.”

Augustus John

A well known artist at work on the Canadian front, Augustus John in December 1917.

Augustus E John a well-known British artist who worked several commissions for the Canadian War Records Office (Canadian War Memorials Fund). Frequently at odds with military authorities and Lord Beaverbrook. Also granted special permission to keep a full beard.

Works of Mary Riter Hamilton

Born in Teeswater, Ontario in September 1867, Hamilton had by age 26 suffered the deaths of both her husband (who died of an infection) and stillborn infant. She studied art in Toronto and New York and later moved to Paris, where she lived for much of the period from 1903 to 1911. As early as 1905, she was included in one of the most illustrious art exhibitions, the Paris Salon. In 1911, Riter Hamilton returned to Canada.

War Amps of Canada

When the Great War ended, the Amputation Club of British Columbia, the predecessor to the War Amps of Canada, commissioned Hamilton to portray the postwar battlefields for its magazine, The Gold Stripe. She set sail for France and Belgium at the very moment when most were leaving the former battlefields for home.

April 1919

In late-April 1919, Riter Hamilton stepped foot on Vimy Ridge for the first time. Around the same time, Lt William Rider Rider sent back to the old battlefields to capture historic images.

The Mary Riter Hamilton collection

The collection acquired from Mary Riter Hamilton, Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1926 and Mrs Stanley Smith, Ottawa, Ontario in 1983. Additional items acquired at auction in 2017.

• 180 paintings : oil
• 45 drawings : chalk, charcoal, pastel, and pencil
• 5 prints : etching, aquatint

Note that if the work is not displayed, Library and Archives Canada has yet to digitize the item.

Gilbert Gignac, an art historian formerly of Library and Archives Canada, helped organize a successful exhibition of Hamilton’s battlefield paintings that opened in 1989 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and then toured for five years across Canada and Europe. Fifteen works displayed at the Canadian War Museum during 2018/2019. Since then, Hamilton’s work remains in storage at the new Library and Archives Canada facility in Ottawa.

Tank Cemetery at Zillebeke

Tank Cemetery at Zillebeke MIKAN No 2873834

French Trenches, Ecurie, Graveyard of Many Heroes

OP-0227 French Trenches, Ecurie, Graveyard of Many Heroes. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper laid down onto cardboard. Support 26.400 x 34.000 cm. MIKAN No 2873506

Dug Out on the Somme

OP-0228 (R5966, Volume number 1) Dug Out on the Somme 1919. Painting’s support laid down onto secondary support of cardboard., This is item 3 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835979

First Boat to arrive at Arras after the Armistice

OP-0229 First Boat to arrive at Arras after the Armistice 1920 MIKAN No 2835980.

British Cemetery, St. Eloi – No digital object

OP-0230 British Cemetery, St. Eloi. 1 painting / peinture : oil on commercial board. Support 26.900 x 34.900 cm

Panorama of Arras

OP-0231 Panorama of Arras. 1 painting / peinture oil on commercial canvas board. Support 26.900 x 33.800 cm.

Note: CEFRG assumes “Arras, 1919” is “Panorama of Arras”.

A Misty Morning, Mt. St. Eloi. – No digital object

OP-0232 A Misty Morning, Mt. St. Eloi. 1 painting / peinture : oil on commercial canvas board. Support 32.900 x 40.800 cm.

Albert (Somme) Route d’Amiens

OP-0233 Albert (Somme) Route d’Amiens 1920 MIKAN No 2835987

Interior of a Pill Box, Flanders

OP-0234 Interior of a Pill Box, Flanders 1920. This work was exhibited under the title of Pill Box (Interior)., This is item 9 in the Hamilton inventory. 1 painting : oil on cardboard laid down onto cardboard Support 35.300 x 44.100 cm Secondary support 35.800 x 44.100 cm Platemark 46.500 x 55.500 cm MIKAN No. 2835988

Ruins of the Cloth Hall, Stormy Day

OP-0235 Ruins of the Cloth Hall, Stormy Day. It looks as if this painting was exhibited in 1923 under the title of ‘Ruins’. MIKAN No 2873741

Mary Riter Hamilton in Ypres in 1919.

‘I wish I could transport you here, for one must see it all in order to realize just what this terrible war has done.’

In a letter to her friend in June 1919

Nine Elms British Camp, France – No digital object

OP-0236 Nine Elms British Camp, France 1 painting / peinture : oil on paper. Support 26.200 x 33.500 cm. Platemark x cm.

Holebecke, Flanders – No digital object

OP-0237 Holebecke, Flanders. Mary Riter Hamilton. 1 painting / peinture : oil on light card laid down onto cardboard Support 22.500 x 29.000 cm

Ypres Cathedral

OP-0238 Ypres Cathedral. This is item 13 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836038

Route de Bapaume – No digital object

OP-0239 Route de Bapaume 1 painting / peinture : oil on paper
Support 21.700 x 26.900 cm Item-14

The Irish Nunnery at Ypres

OP-0240 The Irish Nunnery at Ypres. Mary Riter Hamilton 1919 MIKAN No 2879594

The Grave of Prince Maurice of Battenberg (Ypres)

OP-0241 The Grave of Prince Maurice of Battenberg (Ypres). 1921. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood. Support 46.100 x 58.000 cm

Notre Dame de Lorette, Lorette Ridge

OP-0242 Notre Dame de Lorette, Lorette Ridge Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2894911

Mine Crater – Hooghe – No digital object

OP-0243 Mine Crater – Hooghe

La Petite Place-Arras – No digital object

OP-0244 There is paper stuck to the lower center recto of this work.

The Sadness of the Somme

OP-0245 (R5966, Volume number 11) The Sadness of the Somme 1920. This is item 21 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835991

Ruins of the Chateau Grounds near Ypres

OP-0246 This is item 22 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836032

Sanctuary Wood, Flanders

OP-0247 This is item 23 in the Hamilton inventory. Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2835992

A Ruined Interior, Arras 1919

OP-0248 A Ruined Interior, Arras. 1919 Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2873702

Market among the Ruins of Ypres

OP-0249 Market among the Ruins of Ypres. 1920 Mary Riter Hamilton. This is item 25 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835993

OP-0250 None

British Cemetery (Poityze) – No digital object

OP-0251 British Cemetery (Poityze).

A Shell Hole – Misty Morning – No digital object

OP-0252 A Shell Hole – Misty Morning

Filling the Shell Holes in No Man’s Land

OP-0253 Support laid down onto cardboard. This is item 29 in the Hamilton inventory.

Interior of a Cellar used by Refugees (Bourlon, near Cambrai)

OP-0254 (see OP-0262) Interior of a Cellar used by Refugees (Bourlon, near Cambrai). Exhibited in 1923 exhibition “Impressions of the Battlefields after the Armistice” under title Interior of a cellar (Bourlon, near Cambrai). This is item 31 in the hamilton inventory. Interior of a cellar (Bourlon, near Cambrai) Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2894915

La Scarpe, Arras – No digital object

OP-0255 La Scarpe, Arras. Mary Riter Hamilton

Ramparts of Ypres

OP-0256 Ramparts of Ypres. Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2873654

Strong Hold – Dixmude

OP-0257 Strong Hold – Dixmude. Paint is flaking on work especially on the lower third. Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2873813

Cross Roads (Somme) – No digital object

OP-0258 Cross Roads (Somme) Mary Riter Hamilton. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood. Support 26.900 x 33.500 cm

Destroyed Forest on the Somme

OP-0259 Destroyed Forest on the Somme. Mary Riter Hamilton MIKAN No 2873495

Ypres Canal – No digital object

OP-0260 Ypres Canal Mary Riter Hamilton. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wood panel. Support 21.800 x 27.000 cm. On the verso of the panel is the supplier’s stamp of Lucien Lefebvre Foinet.

Hill 60 Mine Crater, Flanders – No digital object

OP-0261 Hill 60 Mine Crater, Flanders. Mary Riter Hamilton

OP-0262 (See OP-0254)

The First Crop After the War – No digital object

OP-0263 The First Crop After the War. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 29.900 x 42.500 cm Image 29.800 x 42.500 cm

Old French Caserne at Ypres – No digital object

OP-0264 Old French Caserne at Ypres. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 26.300 x 34.700 cm

Trenches on the Somme

OP-0265 Trenches on the Somme (1919). Mary Riter Hamilton. This is item 44 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835996

A Street in Ruined Ypres – No digital object

OP-0266 A Street in Ruined Ypres. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood
Support 58.300 x 45.600 cm

Cathedral Gate – Ypres – No digital object

OP-0267 Cathedral Gate – Ypres. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard
Support 25.000 x 19.100 cm

Lens-Arras Road 1919 – Once One of the Most Beautiful in France

OP-0268 Lens-Arras Road 1919 – Once One of the Most Beautiful in France. MIKAN No 2873567

Ruins at Ypres, Cloth Hall

OP-0269 Ruins at Ypres, Cloth Hall. MIKAN No 2873707

Mine Crater (Hooghe)

O-0270 Mine Crater (Hooghe) MIKAN No 2873614

Canal of Dixmude – No digital object

O-0271 Canal of Dixmude. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard
Support 22.100 x 27.300 cm

Mt. St. Eloi ca. 1919-1920

This is Item-53 or item 64 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836003 or MIKAN No 2894924. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood Support 41.100 x 33.200 cm Platemark 52.500 x 45.000 cm

Mons [cartographic material]

O-0272 Mons [cartographic material]. This is item 54 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835997.

Princess Patricia`s Canadian Light Infantry Cemetery, Voormezelle

O-0273 Princess Patricia`s Canadian Light Infantry Cemetery, Voormezelle 1920. This is item 55 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835998

A Misty Morning, the Ramparts of Ypres

OP-0274 A Misty Morning, the Ramparts of Ypres 1921. This is item 57 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2835999

OP-0275 None

Chateau Belge – No digital object

OP-0276 Chateau Belge. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper laid down onto cardboard. Support 18.400 x 23.900 cm

Ramparts of Ypres – Evening – No digital object

OP-0277 Ramparts of Ypres – Evening. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood. Support 46.000 x 59.400 cm

The Kemmel Road, Flanders

OP-0278 The Kemmel Road, Flanders. This is item 62 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836002

Graves of “Old Contemptibles” Zillebeke – No digital object

OP-0279 Graves of “Old Contemptibles” Zillebeke. On the verso of this painting, upside down is a rough oil sketch of a road and some buildings, C-104805. The sketch covers all of the verso.

Unfinished Scene of Buildings Along a Road – No digital object

OP-0279 1 painting / peinture : oil on unstretched canvas
Support 26.800 x 33.400 cm. Mode of storage: B010 Unit: A

OP-0280 None

Bayeau de la Mort, Belgian Front – No digital object

OP-0281 Bayeau de la Mort, Belgian Front 1920 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 26.600 x 34.800 cm

Ypres – No digital object

OP-0282 Ypres 1920 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard
Support 29.700 x 23.200 cm

Farm Converted into a Stronghold

OP-0283 Farm Converted into a Stronghold. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 19.000 x 26.600 cm. MIKAN No 2873504

First Celebration at Zillebeke after the War

OP-0284 First Celebration at Zillebeke after the War. This is item 70 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836004

Cambrai – No digital object

This is item 72 in the Hamilton inventory.

Isolated Grave (Nationality Unknown) on the Ypres-Comine Canal – No digital object

OP-0285 Isolated Grave (Nationality Unknown) on the Ypres-Comine Canal. 1 painting / peinture : oil on canvas. Support 22.000 x 26.600 cm. Canvas is unstretched.

Shell Holes in Flanders near Ypres, No Man’s Land – No digital object

OP-0286 Shell Holes in Flanders near Ypres, No Man’s Land. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper. Support 20.400 x 25.300 cm. MIKAN No 2873804

Maple Copse – British Cemetery From Hill 70 – No digital object

OP-0287 Maple Copse – British Cemetery From Hill 70. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 26.600 x 34.500 cm

Ruins of Sugar Refinery and Nissen Hut at Ecurie – No digital object

OP-0288 Ruins of Sugar Refinery and Nissen Hut at Ecurie. It appears as if this work was exhibited in that show under the title of “Sugar Refinery & Nissen Hut at Ecurie 1919”., op0288 1 painting / peinture : oil on paper. Support 27.700 x 35.600 cm

Isolated Grave on the Belgian Front – No digital object

OP-0289 Isolated Grave on the Belgian Front 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard Support 19.100 x 23.800 cm

Loose Mine Crater, Hill 70, France

OP-0290 Loose (Loos) Mine Crater, Hill 70, France 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper Support 27.100 x 34.700 cm MIKAN No 2873573

The New Home

OP-0291 The New Home 1920 This is item 79 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836005

Dumping Place for Unexploded Munitions

OP-0292 Dumping Place for Unexploded Munitions 1920 1 painting / peinture : oil on paper Support 34.000 x 42.100 cm

St. Julien, First Gas Attack Launched Here – No digital object

OP-0293 St. Julien, First Gas Attack Launched Here 1920 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper Support 26.800 x 34.500 cm

Interior of a Destroyed Church, Arras

OP-0294 Interior of a Destroyed Church, Arras 1919. This is item 83 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836006

British Cemetery at Tuileries Zillebeke – No digital object

OP-0295 British Cemetery at Tuileries Zillebeke 1921. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood Support 46.200 x 59.100 cm

Memorial for the Second Canadian Division in a Mine Crater near Neuville St. Vaast

OP-0296 Memorial for the Second Canadian Division in a Mine Crater near Neuville St. Vaast ca 1920. This is item 85 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836007

Cemetery of the 7th Battalion, British Columbia, Canada

OP-0297 Cemetery of the 7th Battalion, British Columbia, Canada 1919. This is item 86 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836008

Boesinghe

OP-0298 Boesinghe 1921. This is item 87 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2894930

OP-0299 None

Battlefields from Vimy Ridge, Lens-Arras Road

OP-3000 Battlefields from Vimy Ridge, Lens-Arras Road 1919. MIKAN No 2836024

OP-0301 None

The First Pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Lorette after the War of 1914-1918

OP-0302 The First Pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Lorette after the War of 1914-1918. 12 September 1920. This is item 130 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836015

12 September 1920

OP-0303 None

Camblain l’Abbé

OP-0304 Camblain l’Abbé 1919 (Canadian Corps HQ). The right hand corner of this panel has been broke off a little bit. MIKAN No 287348

OP-0305 None

Dedication of a War Monument at Hooghe – No digital object

OP-0306 Dedication of a War Monument at Hooghe. Item-81

OP-0307 None

OP-0308 None

OP-0309 None

Nine Elms

OP-0310 Nine Elms. This is Hamilton I-139. Mary Riter Hamilton. MIKAN No 2873621

Ruined Cathedral of Ablaine St. Nazaire – No digital object

Ruined Cathedral of Ablaine St. Nazaire OP-0311 Item-86

OP-0312 None

Entrance to Canadian Observation Post on Lorette Ridge

OP-0313 Entrance to Canadian Observation Post on Lorette Ridge MIKAN No 2873503

OP-0314 None

Petit Vimy and Vimy Village from the Lens – Arras Road

OP-0315 Petit Vimy and Vimy Village from the Lens – Arras Road 1919. MIKAN No 2836011

Remains of the Church at Neuville St. Vaast

OP-0316 Remains of the Church at Neuville St. Vaast. Item No 67 in the Hamilton collection.

Ruins of St. Martin’s Cathedral at Ypres

OP-0317 Ruins of St. Martin’s Cathedral at Ypres. Item-93.

OP-0318 Villiers-au-Bois

Villers-au-Bois 1919. Liste d’inventaire Hamilton, no 148. MIKAN No 2894933

OP-0319 None

Remains of a Camouflaged Aeroplane, Courcelette

OP-0320 Remains of a Camouflaged Aeroplane, Courcelette. Mary Riter Hamilton collection. MIKAN No 2873693

OP-0321 None

Clearing Houthulst’s Forest of Gas Shells

OP-0322 Clearing Houthulst’s Forest of Gas Shells. MIKAN No 2873488

Loos from the Crater, Hill 70, France

OP-0323 Loos from the Crater, Hill 70, France. MIKAN No 2873611

Bedford House Cemetery, Zillebeke

Bedford House Cemetery, Zillebeke OP-0324 Item-100. Tissue is stuck to the upper surface of this work. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper Support 17.800 x 26.600 cm

Courcelette au Bois Cemetery

Courcelette au Bois Cemetery OP-0325 Item-101

OP-0326 None

The Supreme Sacrifice

OP-0327 The Supreme Sacrifice. MIKAN No 2873830

Tragedy of War in Dear Old Battered France

OP-0328 Tragedy of War in Dear Old Battered France ca 1920. This is item 158 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836021

Reconstruction of Ypres

OP-0329 Reconstruction of Ypres. MIKAN No 2873690

British Camp, Ypres

OP-0330 British Camp, Ypres. 1 painting : oil on cardboard. Support 26.700 x 34.800 cm.

Entrance to Bourlon Wood (British Cemetery)

OP-0331 Entrance to Bourlon Wood (British Cemetery). 1 painting / peinture : oil on wood panel. Support 22.000 x 26.400 cm.

Grave of the Son of Premier Hughes of Australia, Passchendaele Ridge

OP-0332 Grave of the Son of Premier William Morris Hughes of Australia, Passchendaele Ridge 1921. Mary Riter Hamilton collection. MIKAN No 2873530

British Cemetery, Ramparts Ypres

OP-0333 British Cemetery, Ramparts Ypres. MIKAN No 2873474

Menin Road, British Cemetery

OP-0334 Menin Road, British Cemetery. This is item 164 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836023

British Cemetery at Avioli, Somme

OP-0335 British Cemetery at Avioli, Somme 1919 MIKAN No 2873466

Dug Out and Pill Box

OP-0336 Dug Out and Pill Box MIKAN No 2877971

Ecurie Wood

OP-0337 Ecurie Wood 1919. MIKAN No 2873501

No Man’s Land

OP-0338 No Man’s Land 1920. The verso of this work has been covered in paint. MIKAN No 2873622

Monument canadien, crête de Passchendaele

OP-0339 Monument canadien, crête de Passchendaele. Ce monument a été dédié à la mémoire des 148 officiers et soldats du 85e bataillon qui sont tombés au champ d’honneur. Le verso de cette oeuvre a été peint en brun., Liste d’inventaire Hamilton, no 169. MIKAN No 2894934

Australian Monument, Zonnebeke

OP-0340 Australian Monument, Zonnebeke. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper Support 27.100 x 37.700 cm. Item-115.

Shrapnel Corner, Flanders

OP-0341 Shrapnel Corner, Flanders 1920. MIKAN No 2873807

Tank Cemetery

OP-0342 Tank Cemetery 1920. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard
Support 18.900 x 24.000 cm MIKAN No 2873807

Gun Emplacements in the Chalk Pits (France)

OP-0343 Gun Emplacements in the Chalk Pits (France). 1 painting / peinture : oil on commercial canvas board Support 26.800 x 34.800 cm

Dickebusch Lake, Flanders showing the Reconstruction

OP-0344 Dickebusch Lake, Flanders showing the Reconstruction. This is item 174 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836014

Interior of the Sugar Refinery, Courcelette

OP-0345 Interior of the Sugar Refinery, Courcelette. Wax paper is stuck to the recto of this painting in the u.c. area. MIKAN No 2873548

The Grave of an Unknown British Soldier, Passchendaele Road

OP-0346 The Grave of an Unknown British Soldier, Passchendaele Road. Center bottom of support has been damaged, is missing. MIKAN No 2873507

Comrades

OP-0347 Comrades 1920. Center bottom of support has been damaged, is missing. The verso of this painting has been painted blue, This is item 177 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836026

OP-0348 Mary Riter Hamilton collection [graphic material]. Acquired from Mary Riter Hamilton, Winnipeg, Manitoba and Mrs [] in 1926.

Belgian and German Pill-Boxes on the Yser

OP-0349 Belgian and German Pill-Boxes on the Yser. The Belgians are on the left. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard Support 18.800 x 23.900 cm.

Château Grounds, Hooge

OP-0350 Château Grounds, Hooge. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wood panel Support 15.900 x 22.000 cme

Belgian Grave on l’Yser Canal

OP-0351 Belgian Grave on l’Yser Canal 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard Support 19.000 x 24.000 cm Verso is painted with blue oil

Street in Monchy-le-Preux

OP-0352 Street in Monchy-le-Preux 1919. There is wax paper stuck to the recto of this work. MIKAN No 2873810

Principal Street in St. Julien

OP-0353 Principal Street in St. Julien, 1920. Mary Riter Hamilton collection. MIKAN No 2873649

A Misty Morning on the Yser

OP-0354 A Misty Morning on the Yser. MIKAN No 2873618

Ruins of Arras

OP-0355 Ruins of Arras 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper laid down onto cardboard Support 25.700 x 33.000 cm. Item-130.

OP-0356 None

A “Dud”

OP-0357 A “Dud” MIKAN No 2873497

Hooge

OP-0358 Hooge 1920. The verso of this painting has been covered with paint. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard Support 22.100 x 27.200 cm

OP-0359 None

Sanctuary Wood Cemetery

OP-0360 Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. Wax paper is stuck to the recto of this work. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper Support 25.000 x 30.700 cm

Camouflaged German Observation Post (Dummy Monument) at Terhand Village, Zillebeke

OP-0361 Camouflaged German Observation Post (Dummy Monument) at Terhand Village, Zillebeke 1921. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wood panelSupport 15.800 x 22.000 cm

Petite Place, Arras – Market Day

OP-0362 Petite Place, Arras – Market Day 1920. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood Support 45.700 x 58.500 cm

The Plank Road

OP-0363 The Plank Road. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard Support 36.200 x 44.800 cm

Sunrise on Passchendaele Ridge

Sunrise on Passchendaele Ridge (crosses are German isolated graves). Mary Riter Hamilton Collection. Item-180. MIKAN No 2879632

Road to St. Julien 1920

1 drawing / dessin : charcoal and white chalk on paper. Support 22.900 x 30.400 cm. This is item 185 in the Hamilton inventory.

Porte de Paris, Cambrai

This is item 187 in the Mary Riter Hamilton inventory.

Grande Place, Arras

OP-0364 Grande Place, Arras. This is item 194 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836016

Old Spanish Architecture in Ruins, Arras

OP-0365 Old Spanish Architecture in Ruins, Arras. This work was conserved in 1978. It was cleaned, varnished & matted. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wood panel Support 22.000 x 13.600 cm

Butte de Warlincourt, Somme

OP-0366 Butte de Warlincourt, Somme. 1 painting / peinture : oil on commercial canvas board. Support 24.000 x 32.900 cm Item-140

Arras from the Road to Béthune

OP-0367 Arras from the Road to Béthune. The verso of this work is covered with paint. This is item 197 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836018

Isolated Grave and Camouflage, Vimy Ridge

OP-0368 Isolated Grave and Camouflage, Vimy Ridge, 20 May 1919. MIKAN No 2890448

Clearing the Battlefields in Flanders

OP-0369 Clearing the Battlefields in Flanders. The verso of this picture is covered in paint., This is item 199 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836020

Bridge Spanning the Ypres – l’Yser Canal

OP-0370 Bridge Spanning the Ypres – l’Yser Canal. MIKAN No 2873464

View from Hill 70 of Maple Copse Cemetery

OP-0371 View from Hill 70 of Maple Copse Cemetery, showing the Official Monument, (Zillebeke Lake in the Distance).

Tank Cemetery on the Menin Road

OP-0372 Tank Cemetery on the Menin Road 1920. 1 painting / peinture : oil on brown wove paper Support 26.100 x 34.300 cm

Shattered Pill-Box, Zonnebeke Battlefields

OP-0373 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 36.500 x 45.300 cm

Gun Emplacements, Farbus Wood, Vimy Ridge

OP-0374 Gun Emplacements, Farbus Wood, Vimy Ridge. MIKAN No 2836031

“Gun Emplacements, Farbus Wood, Vimy Ridge by Mary Riter Hamilton, 1919 (Library and Archives Canada – MIKAN 2836031)”?

Observation Post, St. Jean

OP-0375 Observation Post, St. Jean 1920. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 34.200 x 26.800 cm

Overlooking the Battlefields from Hill 70

OP-0376 Overlooking the Battlefields from Hill 70 1921. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood. Support 24.500 x 45.800 cm

In Memory of the Engineers, Zillebeke

OP-0377 In Memory of the Engineers, Zillebeke 1920. 1 painting / peinture : oil on cardboard. Support 18.700 x 24.000 cm

The Very Trees

OP-0378 The Very Trees. Inscribed. Signed., Inscription: in brushpoint and purple oil, recto l.l.: Mary Riter Hamilton; in pen and black ink on label, verso u.c.: The Very trees – / By / Mary Riter Hamilton.

Canal, Cambrai

OP-0379 Canal, Cambrai 1920. This is item 209 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836019

Evening on the Belgian Front

OP-0380 Evening on the Belgian Front. This is item 210 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836029

Minoterie, Dixmude (German Stronghold)

OP-0381 Minoterie, Dixmude (German Stronghold) 1920. The verso is painted. This is item 211 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836017

British Grave

This is item 212 in the Hamilton inventory.

Shell-Hole

OP-0382 Shell-Hole. The verso of this work is covered with paint, wax paper is stuck to the recto of this work.

Among the Ruins, Arras

OP-0383 Among the Ruins, Arras 1919. MIKAN No 2873452

The Shattered Ramparts of Ypres

OP-0384 The Shattered Ramparts of Ypres 1920. MIKAN No 2873802

Dunhallow A.D.S., Ypres (British Cemetery)

OP-0385 Duhallow A.D.S., Ypres (British Cemetery) 1921. MIKAN No 2873500

Inundated Territory, Avioli, Somme

OP-0386 Inundated Territory, Avioli, Somme 1919. Canvas is unstretched. Wax paper is stuck to image. MIKAN No 2873549

Grave of an Unknown Soldier

OP-0387 Grave of an Unknown Soldier 1920. MIKAN No 2836030

Closing of Canadian Camp, Camblain l’Abbe

OP-0388 Closing of Canadian Camp, Camblain l’Abbe 1919. There is a layer of paper stuck to the surface of this painting. MIKAN No 2873489

The Lille Gate 1920

This is item 212 in the Hamilton inventory.

Observation Post on the Menin Road

This is item 215 in the Hamilton inventory.

Pill box “interior”

Pill box interior. Mary Riter Hamilton Item-219. MIKAN No 2879623

Cloth Hall, Ypres – Market Day

OP-0389 Cloth Hall, Ypres – Market Day 1920. The secondary support onto which this painting was laid down on, has been removed. This is item 219 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836025

The Cross Roads, Vimy Ridge

OP-0390 The Cross Roads, Vimy Ridge 1919 (Canadian Field Artillery Monument). The cross on the monument is at St. Luke’s Church, Winnipeg. The art supplier, Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet’s stamp is on verso of canvas. In the painting, signposts identify various place names. MIKAN No 2873492

Canadian Field Artillery Memorial

The cross on the monument is still on the monument!

The Lens – Arras road

The Lens – Arras road 1919. This is item 222 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2879621

Dead End, Flandres

OP-0391 Dead End, Flandres 1920. This is item 222 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836028

War Material

OP-0392 War Material 1920. This is item 223 in the Hamilton inventory. MIKAN No 2836037

Menin Gate, Ypres

OP-0393 Menin Gate, Ypres 1920. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood. Support 45.800 x 58.400 cm. The verso of this work has been painted with oil paint.

Porte de Lille, Ypres

OP-0394 Porte de Lille, Ypres 1921. 1 painting / peinture : oil on wove paper laid down onto cardboard. Support 22.300 x 26.400 cm. Stuck to the recto of the work is wax paper.

Old Street in Arras

OP-0395 Old Street in Arras 1919. MIKAN No 2873639

Interior of Ruined Cathedral, Arras – No digital object

OP-0396 Interior of Ruined Cathedral, Arras 1919. 1 painting / peinture : oil on pressed board. Support 34.900 x 26.800 cm

Ruins of the Cathedral of St Vaast, Arras, 1918 (after John Singer Sargent).

Winston Spencer Churchill (1874 – 1965).

Prince Arthur of Connaught’s Room at Camblain l’Abbée – No digital object

OP-0397 Prince Arthur of Connaught’s Room at Camblain l’Abbée 1919. This is the last item in the Hamilton inventory. 1 painting / peinture : oil on plywood Support 59.300 x 46.000 cm

British Cemetery near Bethune

British Cemetery near Bethune, 1919. OP-0974. Item-171. MIKAN No 2873470

Royal Westminster Regiment Museum

The Royal Westminster Regiment Museum evidently in possession of several paintings, and at least one drawing missing from the Mary Riter Collection. One painting titled Trench at Vimy Ridge, seen at the 15:37 mark of the The Royal Westminster Regiment – Museum Tour YouTube video.

Officially opened on 15 April 1973, the Museum of the Royal Westminster Regiment the first regimental museum in Canada to be recognized as an official military museum.

Unknown

Items in the Mary Riter Hamilton collection lacking an OP number.

A French Soldier (Louave), Rocklin Court – No digital object

A French Soldier (Louave), Rocklin Court (Roclincourt) Item-178

A Shelter – No digital object

A Shelter Item-184

Bridge on Ypres – l’Yser Canal – No digital object

Item-182. 1 drawing / dessin : charcoal and white chalk
Support 24.700 x 35.800 cm

Chateau grounds, Poityse – No digital object

Chateau grounds, Poityse. Item-190

Dangerous “dug out” – No digital object

Dangerous “dug out” Item-200

Grave of a British Warrior – No digital object

Grave of a British Warrior Item-201

Irish nunnery at Ypres

Irish nunnery at Ypres. Item-209. MIKAN No 2879597

Evening – Ypres – No digital object

Evening – Ypres Item-205 1 drawing / dessin : charcoal Support 29.300 x 38.100 cm

French Military Camp

French Military Camp, dated 1919

Kasen Havildar in France

Kasen Havildar in France, dated 1919.

Lewis Gun Implacement and Ramparts, dated 1919

Lewis Gun Mary Riter Hamilton

Havildar or havaldar the rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant.

Maple Copse British Cemetery, Zillebeke – No digital object

Maple Copse British Cemetery, Zillebeke. Item-181

Menin Road – Hell Fire Corner

Menin Road – Hell Fire Corner, 1921. Mary Riter Hamilton Item-203 MIKAN No 2879611

Portrait Sketch of a Canadian Sergeant Still in Écurie, France

Portrait Sketch of a Canadian Sergeant Still in Écurie, France, circa 1919

Ramparts, Ypres – No digital object

Ramparts, Ypres 1921 Item-214

Sadness of war – No digital object

Sadness of war. Alternative title: Broken Trees on the Ramparts, Ypres. Item-195

The Menin Gate – No digital object

The Menin Gate. Item-220

The Route de Lille – No digital object

The Route de Lille 1920. Item-197

Tree converted into an O.P., Arras-Bethune Road – No digital object

Tree converted into an O.P., Arras-Bethune Road Item-193

Ypres en fete

Item-207. MIKAN No 2879596

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