Natural  Phenomena
The North American landscape is rich with natural phenomena that have inspired artists since humans first began to represent their surroundings. Volcanoes occur when shifts in the earth's tectonic plates create fissures that spew lava, steam, and ash from the earth's core. Waterfalls and river canyons result from erosion. Aurora borealis are the atmosphere's energy made visible. Other kinds of natural phenomena include earthquakes, floods, drought, and meteor showers.

Unknown
Niagara Falls
Date ?
Canadian Museum of Civilization

Canada has no constructed icons which, like Egypt’s pyramids or France’s Eiffel Tower, represent it to the world. However, there are natural phenomena that serve almost as pilgrimage destinations for visitors to Canada. Perhaps the best known is Niagara Falls. Though long a symbol of nature’s power, Niagara Falls is also an example of one of North America's glories and wonder of the earth.

 

H. Eric Bergman (1893 - 1958)
Northern Phenomenon
1930
wood engraving on paper
23.20 X 20.30 cm
Collection of The Winnipeg Art Gallery; Acquired with the assistance of the German Canadian Business and Professional Association of Manitoba, and German Canadians in Winnipeg through the efforts of DER NORDWESTERN


Northern lights, or aurora borealis, are natural phenomena that appear in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere. This multi-coloured light effect usually hovers 100 to 300 kilometres over the Northwest Territories and northern Quebec and can be seen from almost anywhere in Canada. Auroras result from electromagnetic energy acting on atmospheric particles of oxygen and nitrogen. They have fascinated spectators and inspired artists for centuries. In Aboriginal mythology the Northern lights are ancestral spirits dancing before the Great Spirit, and in Inuit culture the arsaniit are the sky people playing a ball game.

 

John Hammond (1843 - 1939)
C.P.R. Station in the Rockies
1901
oil on canvas
151.60 X 244.40 cm
Collection of The Winnipeg Art Gallery; Gift of the Walter Klinkhoff Gallery Inc., Montreal


Construction of a railway across Canada made the dream to link the country from coast to coast a reality. The last spike was driven in November 1885 and the first journey occurred the following June. The Canadian Pacific Railway opened new opportunities for industry, immigration and agriculture by allowing entrance to western and northern regions that were previously only accessible by inconvenient water routes. In this image the small railway station and platform are dwarfed by the gigantic Rocky Mountains, suggesting both the promises of the railway and the daunting obstacles overcome in making it possible.

 

Georges Bédard (1912 - )
Montagne à 2 piques du grand nord canadien près de 3 cent pied atid
Date ?
Canadian Museum of Civilization


Georges Bédard’s landscapes seem to be painted from the inside out. His works reveal a multilayered essence that he sees clearly in his imagination. “What I prefer is inside of me,” he says. “This is where my strength and facility lie. But this is also what differentiates me from artists. This is my strength—rarity. This is where I am unique in Canada.” Bédard, a retired engineer, turned to art while nursing an ailing wife: “I did that to give a remembrance to the kids, just dabbling. Then everybody found it beautiful and beautiful and beautiful. That is why I continued.”