Call the Mounties!
Is it the snappy red coat? That nerdy but winning Dudley Do-Rightish vibe? Whatever their secret, these Canadian cuties have a truly timeless appeal.
Fans will enjoy the outstanding collection of Royal Canadian Mounted Police artwork at The Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota.
The Tweed’s collection derives from advertisements of a local Minnesota paper company. Here’s what their website says:
“Beginning in 1931, Northwest Paper Company commissioned nearly 400 paintings and illustrations, in watercolor, oil and line drawings, which were used to merchandise the company’s printing papers. The illustrations of the RCMP in their distinctive red surge uniforms were an instant advertising success.
In all, 16 artists painted Mountie illustrations for Northwest Paper from 1931 until 1970, when it was determined the collection was large enough to meet the company’s future marketing needs.
Hal Foster, who went on to create the Prince Valiant cartoon strip, was the first Mountie artist. As Foster devoted more time to cartooning and Northwest Paper’s marketing efforts expanded from illustrations in printing trade magazines to calendars, memo pads and broadsides, other artists were called upon to contribute.
The most prolific and best known of this group is Arnold Friberg. Although most of his works were in oil, Friberg’s first work for the company in 1937 was in watercolor. Over the next 33 years, he sold paintings or reproduction rights on 208 Mountie subjects to Northwest Paper….
There’s lots more of the history at The Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota. Their online store offers everything from fine art prints to calendars to T-shirts featuring the classic Arnold Friberg painting of a stalwart Mountie saluting under the corps’ motto: “Maintain the Right.”
Honor (um, I mean, honour) our northern neighbors with a tasteful display in your home or office.
Cheers!
Kate Stine
(happily married to a very nice Canadian fellow)
Artwork Caption: “M.P. with Husky” Notecard by Arnold Friberg. The Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Kate,
“Honor (um, I mean, honour) our northern neighbors”
Of course you mean *neighbours* too!
March 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Wow what an interesting collection! I’ve always loved the red serge uniform, great ‘colour’ but, of course, we rarely get to see it since rcmp only use it for ceremonies/memorials etc.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I want to thank Kate for this.
I took in the slide show and was blown away.
First, I am not a Mountie. I now live in Ottawa, Canada and pass the
national headquarters of the RCMP almost daily.
During my time as a crime reporter in Alberta with the Calgary Herald
I covered the RCMP, the real RCMP. I covered them on some of their toughest cases. Heart-breaking cases.
No they did not always “get their man.” That’s not their motto, that’s a myth from
days gone by - a Montana newspaper, I think, that Hollywood championed.
I covered the murders of Mounties, I covered their funerals and I covered some of
their greatest triumphs. Clearing cases that, on the surface, seemed damned near
impossible.
I also spent time at the famed RCMP Training Academy, “depot” in Regina and patrolled with young members in Nunavut the newest territory.
I have a sense of the force’s history and the reality that it is today.
That said, I quite enjoyed the romanticized depiction of the RCMP. The colour and artwork was evocative of Rockwell, it also took me back to Holling C. Holling’s work in Paddle-to-the-Sea.
If you have the time, take it in. It is really quite beautiful, a poetic celebration of an ideal that is befitting the honour and code the real members abide by every day
since the force came to be.
Thank you, Kate
Rick
March 18th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Hey Rick,
Nice to see you here!
And thanks for adding your real-life experiences to this discussion. The romantic depiction of the Mounties in popular fiction is fun but it sounds like you have the real score.
Kate
April 7th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Hi Roberta,
Loved your article! I also have a Nancy Drew book out called THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK, for girls from 7 to 78. It offers tips and skills I’ve learned from Nancy over the years, and it certainly got me started writing mysteries (I have seven books in the Connor Westphal series.).
Looking forward to seeing you at Malice.
Best,
Penny Warner