TidesNet—Online Collections Entry Detail

DescriptionA large early 20th century oil on canvas painting of Seal Cove on Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick by artist, George Horne Russell. Russell was born in Banff, Scotland in 1861 He expressed an interest in art early on, studying art at the local school and then at the Aberdeen Art School. Later he moved to London to study at the South Kensington Art School. In 1889, at age 28, Russell moved to Canada and took up residence and work as a portrait painter in Montreal. In 1909, the Grand Trunk Railway commissioned him to paint a series of paintings of the Canadian Rockies and the Skeena River district of British Columbia. His portrait painting business became highly successful and allowed him to afford a summer home in St. Andrews, New Brunswick where he began to spend each summer. Russell chose St. Andrews for a summer home, in all likelihood, because of the number of Montrealers who had summer homes there. He produced a large number of paintings of coastal scenes of St Andrews and the surrounding area. He would then return to Montreal in the winter to resume his portrait painting. In 1909, Russell was elected an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy and 10 years later he was elected a full member. In 1922, he became president of the Royal Canadian Academy. Russell died in St. Stephen, New Brunswick in 1933 and is buried in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Russell’s painting of Seal Cove was acquired by the Tides Institute from Tim Isaac Auction House in Saint John, New Brunswick. Photo caption: Early 20th century oil on canvas painting of Seal Cove on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick by artist, George Horne Russell. Artist: George Horne Russell Medium: Oil on canvas Classification: Paintings Old Accession Number: 74