Maritime artist John Horton was recognized by the City of Richmond this week with the unveiling of his latest work.
Horton, a longtime Richmond resident who has lived in Tsawwassen for the past nine years, is considered one of the leading maritime artists in the world.
As part of its Canada 150 program, the City of Richmond is commissioning public art pieces and projects.
At the recommendation of Coun. Harold Steves, council approved the commissioning of an original work by Horton that would become part of Richmond's permanent collection.
Horton has painted Richmond (Steveston) maritime scenes over the years and although the City of Richmond has acquired some reproductions of at least one of his paintings, the city did not own an original work.
The painting was unveiled during a ceremony at Richmond City Hall on Tuesday and will be permanently on display in the building's foyer.
Visitors are welcome to view the painting during regular business hours (Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
"It was a fun project for sure - very nice of the City of Richmond to contact me. I'm very happy with the finished painting," said Horton.
The painting depicts the arrival of the S.V. Titania and serves as homage to an important milestone in Steveston, but is also a legacy piece to commemorate Canada's 150th birthday.
The painting shows the Titania's arrival in Steveston Harbour in 1889, a meaningful occasion in Richmond's history as it marks the beginning of the region's illustrious commercial fishing industry.
At that time, the Hudson's Bay Company owned the sailing ship. It was the first time a Europe-bound vessel had docked in Steveston.
The ship was loaded with cases of Fraser River salmon before making the long voyage home.
"It was about a two-month process start to finish, but really a lot of the work was getting all the information together," Horton recalled.
"I had to do a number of rough sketches for them to approve and once that was done, I then went to the finished canvas and started roughing it again. They saw it again and were happy with what they saw and then I went onto the painting."
Later this month, Horton will receive an honour for his work in Chilliwack. He is also working on other commissioned paintings and is designing another coin for the Royal Canadian Mint he says will be coming out next year.
He also recently returned from a trip to Europe where he visited his grandfather's grave in Northern France as well as Vimy Ridge.
