Bethune House, The Segwun, Gravenhurst and Frank Johnston

Frank Johnston Watercolour of Bethune House in Gravenhurst and a sketch of the steamship Segwun below

BETHUNE HOUSE AND THE SEGWUN

     IF YOU ARE JUST JOINING THIS BRIEF RETROSPECTIVE, OF FORMER GRAVENHURST ARTIST, FRANK JOHNSTON, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK THREE PREVIOUS BLOGS, TO CATCH-UP ON THE ART BIOGRAPHY.

     PERSONALLY, AND CONSIDERING I DO HAVE A BIAS, I STILL BELIEVE THAT FRANK JOHNSTON'S WATERCOLOR PAINTING, OF BETHUNE HOUSE, IN GRAVENHURST, IS ONE OF THE BEST I'VE VIEWED, OF MANY THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. AS RE-PRODUCED ABOVE, THE VICTORIAN ERA CHURCH MANSE, WHERE DR. NORMAN BETHUNE SPENT THE EARLY DAYS OF HIS LIFE, IS DELICATELY PROFILED AMONGST THE SUMMER HARDWOODS, FROM A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE AWAY. MOST CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, PREFER A TIGHTER CROPPING OF THE SCENE, WHICH REMOVES THE PARK-LIKE CHARACTERISTICS. IT SHOWS THAT JOHNSTON, WHO JUST LIVED A BLOCK AWAY, ON HUGHSON STREET, HAD THE SENSE THAT THE TREES, ON JOHN STREET, MADE UP A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE ELEGANT HOME, SUCH THAT HE DROPPED BACK ACROSS THE STREET, TO INCREASE THE BORDER; VERSUS PAINTING IT CLOSER AND LOSING THE WREATHING OF TREES AND FULL, LEAFY BOUGHS. YET WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DEPICTED WITH THE EXTRA SWEETNESS OF SENTIMENTALITY, IS REDUCED TO ITS ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY, AS WITH THE NATURAL HERITAGE OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL TREES, AT FRONT AND BESIDE. HE COULD HAVE MADE IT LOOK LIKE A STORY-BOOK VICTORIAN, ESTATE BY GOING IN TIGHT ON THE BUILDING, BUT INSTEAD CHOSE TO PAINT IT AS A RATHER ORDINARY, BUT PLEASANT SCENE, IN ONE OF THE OLDEST NEIGHBORHOODS IN GRAVENHURST. AS MUCH TO SAY, MANY OF OUR HISTORIC HOUSES ARE SIMILARLY APPOINTED, AND THIS IS THE CHARACTER OF OUR HOME TOWN. IT'S A SUBTLE PROMOTION OF BETHUNE HOUSE, AS IT WAS, AND A MODEST, DIGNIFIED ENDORSEMENT OF THE WAY IT USED TO BE, AS A CHURCH MANSE AND FAMILY HOME, AND HOW IT HAS EVOLVED IN THE MODERN ERA. LIFE AND RESIDENCY IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, IS PRETTY DECENT AFTERALL. SO SAYS THE ARTIST.

      FRANK JOHNSTON WAS AN ARTIST FIRST AND FOREMOST. HE WAS A HIGHLY SKILLED AND ACCOMPLISHED COMMERCIAL ARTIST AS AN ECONOMIC MAINSTAY. THIS IS WHAT COUPLED HIM WITH CANADIAN GROUP OF ELEVEN, ABSTRACT ARTIST, HAROLD TOWN. TOWN WAS AWARE OF JOHNSTON'S CREDENTIALS, AS BEING A PRINT MAKER OF NATIONAL ACCLAIM. SO, AS FAR AS THE DEPICTION OF BETHUNE HOUSE, IN GRAVENHURST, IT'S OBVIOUS HE WAS TRYING TO SELL THESE HERITAGE IMAGES, THROUGH HIS COMMERCIAL PRINT OPERATION. YET STRANGELY, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS STYLE, HE DIDN'T COMMERCIALIZE THE ILLUSTRATION, AS HE COULD HAVE, SETTLING INSTEAD, TO CREATE A WORK OF ART THAT COULD HANG IN ANY HOME, OFFICE OR COTTAGE, AS A COMPETENT PROFILE OF AN INTERESTING GRAVENHURST LANDMARK. IF YOU HAPPENED TO GAZE UPON THIS SAME PAINTED SCENE, ON A HOT SUMMER DAY, JOHNSTON MADE IT EASY TO IMAGINE THE COOLNESS, PROVIDED BY THE SHADE OF VENERABLE HARDWOODS; EVEN TO THE POINT, THAT WE COULD FEEL THE CHILL OF THE GROUND, SHOULD WE ALSO IMAGINE SITTING WITH OUR BACKS UP AGAINST, ONE OF THE FRONT YARD TREES, FEELING THE DISTINCT COOL GRACE OF THE GRASS AGAINST OUR LEGS; THE RIDGES OF THE BARK AGAINST THE SHOULDERS. FRANK JOHNSTON MADE AN URBAN SCENE, A STORIED, EXTRAORDINARY PAINTING, WITHOUT ANY EMBELLISHMENT; BECAUSE AFTERALL, HE WASN'T IN THE PRACTICE OF ALTERING HISTORY ON THE GRAND SCALE, JUST TO TURN A PROFIT. HE CUT OUT EXTRAVAGANCE, AND TOOK WHAT WAS VISIBLE IN ACTUALITY, AND FOUND IT WAS PERFECT AS IT PRESENTED, ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY, OF THAT PARTICULAR YEAR. I HEARTILY AGREE. HE DIDN'T SEE ANY REASON TO JAZZ-UP WHAT WAS A PERFECT SCENE. THIS SEPARATED HIM FROM MANY OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES, WHO FELT THE NEED TO ENHANCE THE ORDINARY, AND REFUTE THE COMMONPLACE, BY ARTISTIC LICENSE.

     FRANK JOHNSTON'S SKETCH OF THE STEAMSHIP SEGWUN, IS OLD AND FAMILIAR; AND IN THIS TOWN, IT'S ALMOST A RITE OF PASSAGE, FOR ARTISTS TO CREATE AT LEAST ONE DRAWING, OR INTERPRETATION OF ONE OF OUR HISTORIC STEAMSHIPS. FRANK JOHNSTON TOOK THIS TO AN EXTREME, OF COURSE, AND PAINTED MANY OF THE NAVIGATION COMPANY'S STEAMSHIP FLEET, IN FULL COLOR; AND AS I'VE NOTED PREVIOUSLY, THESE MASSIVE ART PIECES HUNG FOR ONE AND ALL TO ENJOY, IN THE DINING AREA OF THE FORMER SLOAN'S RESTAURANT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD. SO THIS SKETCH, OF THE SEGWUN, IS FUNDAMENTAL, AND WITHOUT MUCH HUBBUB WHATSOEVER; YET IT IS STRIKINGLY HISTORIC WHILE AT THE SAME TIME BEING OF A BUSINESS EFFICIENCY, AS IF EVERY DAY LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY, MAY INVOLVE A TRIP OUT ON THE STEAMSHIP, OUT OF ACCEPTED COMMONPLACE. AS A COMMERCIAL ARTIST, WHO WAS ALSO STRUCK BY THE FANCY OF THE MOMENT, JOHNSTON'S TRUE TALENT, WAS THAT HE COULD ADAPT A VISUAL TO SUIT THE PREVAILING NEED, EVEN TO THE POINT OF DESIGNING A TEMPLATE FOR A REALLY NEAT, ALMOST INTERACTIVE RESTAURANT PLACEMAT. IN FACT, HE DESIGNED THE MENU COVERS, AND JACKET FOR THE WINE LIST, AS EMPLOYED BY THE SLOAN FAMILY; AND I HAVE A COPY OF A GRAVENHURST TOURISM BROCHURE FROM THE 1970'S, THAT FRANK ADORNED WITH HIS DEPICTIONS, OF THE TOWN'S NOTABLE STOPS ALONG THE WAY. DURING HIS YEARS SPENT IN GRAVENHURST, HE COMMITTED TO A LARGE NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL PROMOTIONS, AND WAS ESPECIALLY WELL KNOWN FOR HIS GREETING CARDS, OFTEN WITH REQUESTED IMAGES, SUCH AS ONE I USED TO HAVE, OF THE FORMER GREIG MEDICAL BUILDING, ON KIMBERLY AVENUE IN BRACEBRIDGE. SEVERAL TIMES, EVEN RECENTLY, I HAVE RE-PUBLISHED THE IMAGE OF A CHRISTMAS CARD I RECEIVED, AS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, FROM THEN MINISTER OF HEALTH, FRANK MILLER, MUSKOKA MPP, WITH COVER ART PROVIDED BY JOHNSTON, PROFILING A STREET SCENE FROM MUSKOKA PIONEER VILLAGE IN HUNTSVILLE.

    TO SUGGEST THE ARTIST WAS IN DEMAND, WELL, THAT WOULD BE A BOLD LETTERED UNDERSTATEMENT. HE LOVED BOTH THE ART PROFESSION, AND HIS PLACE IN IT, PLUS THE CRAFT OF PRINTING, OF WHICH HE WAS AN EXPERT. TO SUGGEST HE WAS PROLIFIC AS A PAINTER, AND COMMERCIAL ARTIST, WOULD BE ACCURATE. BUT HE DIDN'T SKIMP ON THE QUALITY OF HIS PRODUCT, IN EITHER HIS ART, OR THE STANDARDS OF WORKMANSHIP, SHOWN IN THE FINISHED PRINTING, HE CRAFTED FOR HIS CLIENTS; WHICH BY THE WAY, INCLUDED QUITE A NUMBER OF PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL HERITAGE SITES. TOMORROW, I WILL RE-PUBLISH TWO EXAMPLES OF THIS ARTIST-OUTREACH, WITH IMPRESSIONS HE PAINTED, OF HURONIA'S "SAINTE MARIE AMONG THE HURONS", IN MIDLAND, ONE OF MY FAVORITE MUSEUM VISITS IN ONTARIO.

     FOLLOWING THIS, I WILL PRESENT A SELECTION OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S MUSKOKA LANDSCAPES, WHICH DEMONSTRATE CLEARLY, ONCE AGAIN, THE ARTIST'S CAPABILITY TO PAINT ANYTHING THAT CAUGHT HIS ATTENTION. ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF HIS MATES, EVER ASKED HIS OPINION OF LIVING, AND WORKING IN GRAVENHURST, (AND MUSKOKA); BY VIEWING HIS LANDSCAPES, IN PARTICULAR, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT HIS OPINION WAS ANYTHING LESS THAN FAVORABLE. HIS AWE FOR NATURE, AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS, SEEMS SO OBVIOUS NOW IN THIS RETROSPECTIVE. HE PROFILED POWERFUL AND BREATHTAKING SCENES HE CAME UPON; HE PERCEIVED SO FULL OF LIFE. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THESE IMAGES OF WATERFALLS AND REFLECTIVE LAKES, AND IT'S OBVIOUS, FRANK JOHNSTON WAS KEEN ON STIMULATING THE VOYEUR'S SENSORY PERCEPTION, FOR THOSE SPECIAL PLACES IN OUR REGION. IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN THE COMPANY OF MOZART, AND AT THE SAME TIME, CAN LOOK UPON HIS PROFILE, OF FOR EXAMPLE, BRACEBRIDGE'S HIGH FALLS, IT IS NO EFFORT AT ALL, TO IMAGINE THE DEEP ROAR OF THE CATARACT, AND FEEL THE WAFTING MIST AGAINST THE SKIN. THERE IS AN IMPRESSIONABLE AWE, INSPIRED BY HIS ART, JUST AS THERE IS, IN THE FEAR AND TREMBLING EXPERIENCED, WHILE SITTING ALONE ON THE SHORE, WATCHING THE CRASHING, TUMBLING WATERS, UNDERTOW THEIR WAY, DEEP INTO THE NIGHT BLACKNESS OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER.

     I AGAIN OFFER THIS APOLOGY. I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S ART WORK FOR MORE THAN FORTY YEARS. IT'S HARD TO BE OBJECTIVE. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY, AND HOPEFULLY, YOU CAN RETURN FOR THE BALANCE OF THIS SPRING'S FRANK JOHNSTON RETROSPECTIVE.