John Hammond
1843-1939
John Hammond was born in Montreal, Quebec. He decided to become an artist at the age of eleven after working in a marble mill. He received his schooling in Montreal and later at the age of 23 he joined the army. After his time in the Army, Hammond travelled with his brother to New Zealand where they spent the next two years looking for gold. They came back to Canada in 1870 and Hammond did some work for the Geological Survey of Canada making preliminary studies for the building of a railway. The following year, Hammond was employed by Notman Photographers in Montreal, where he worked with J.A. Fraser, Henry Sandham, Otto R. Jacobi and W.P. Weston.
By the age of thirty, Hammond was a full time painter and was elected a member of the newly formed Ontario Society of Artists. In 1880 he was in Saint Johns where he painted portraits while also travelling in the eastern United States. In 1893, Hammond was appointed the head of the Fine Arts Department at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick and served as Administrator of the university's Owens Museum of Fine Arts.
In 1885, he sailed again for Europe where he painted in Holland with James Whistler and in France with François Millet at Barbizon. He then travelled to Italy, Belgium and France. Later in his life, he also travelled to Japan and China where he also painted.
In 1886, Hammond won two prizes at the Salon de Paris and the following year, he received honours when he exhibited at the National Gallery in New York. He also obtained success at the Pan-American Exhibition of 1901 in Buffalo where he won a silver medal and at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in 1904 where he received a bronze medal. He also participated at other venues including shows at the National Academy of Design in New York and at the Royal Academy in London, England.
Hammond was elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1890 and was made a full member in 1893. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Canadian Academy shows between 1891 and 1935. Hammond was good friends with art collector William Van Horne, President of Canadian Pacific Railway, and was hired to do paintings and murals at CPR hotels and offices depicting scenes from the company's various railroad routes. But Hammond’s best known subjects are of the Bay of Fundy and scenes of the harbour at Saint John, New Brunswick with its ever-present fog. Hammond died in Sackville, New Brunswick, at the age of 96. In 1967, a retrospective exhibition was held at the Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick.
Collections:
- National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, QC)
- Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Quebec City, QC)
- Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax, NS)
- Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton, NB)
- Musée d’Art de Joliette (Joliette, QC)
- Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- New Brunswick Museum (Saint Johns, NB)
- The Winnipeg Art Gallery (Winnipeg, MN)
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (Victoria, BC)
- Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston, ON)
- Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON)
- Art Gallery of Hamilton (Hamilton, ON)
- Confederation Centre Art Gallery (Charlottetown, PEI)
- Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University (Sackville, NB)
- McCord Museum Canadian History (Montreal, QC)
- Power Corporation of Canada (Montreal, QC)
Affiliations:
- Ontario Society of Artists (1873)
- Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy (1890)
- Royal Canadian Academy (1893)
