signed and dated indistinctly lower left
Reference: “Picturesque Canada: The Country As It Was and Is” (1882). This watercolour is illustrated on page 266 of Volume I.
In 1880, Lucius O’Brien, who had just become the founding president of the newly established Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, signed on as the editor of an ambitious book project: “Picturesque Canada: The Country As It Was and Is”. The book was to be the most extensive topographical guide to the Canadian landscape of its day. Guided by two American brothers, who had previously produced “Picturesque America”, O’Brien’s job was to oversee the art direction of the book. The same year, he began his tour across the country, where he met with fellow artists whom he hired to produce images that would then be engraved for publication. Of the 550 illustrations, O’Brien himself created many of the images in the final publication. The Deserted Mine (Victoria Island) was included in the first volume of “Picturesque Canada”, released in 1882.
Victoria Island is a small island located in Lake Superior. By the late 19th century, the island had been excavated in an unsuccessful search for silver:
“A vein of quartz, promising silver, has in some past day induced mining operations on Victoria Island, which, however, have not led to anything but an excavation resembling a natural cave. Out of this, with minds probably in a happier frame than those whose unprofitable labour leaves its record here, we gazed, as from a window, upon our own peaceful encampment and the sheltered bay.” (pp. 85)
