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 EXHIBITIONS 

On Now

OCTOBER 2024 - JANUARY 2025
Bison Legacy: The Artistic Vision of Dwayne Harty
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The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies proudly presents Bison Legacy: The Artistic Vision of Dwayne Harty, an exhibition that explores the profound connection between humans and one of North America's most iconic wildlife species. Through the expressive works of Dwayne Harty, Bison Legacy chronicles the extraordinary journey of the bison from near extinction to cultural and ecological revival. Evident in each canvas is Harty’s deep connection to these majestic creatures that he has captured over years of dedicated study and artistic exploration. From the plains of North America to the forests of Europe, Harty captures the resilience and significance of bison in various landscapes. This exhibition not only celebrates the bison's remarkable comeback but also honors the collaborative efforts in conservation and the vital role of Indigenous cultural restoration. Harty’s art reflects his deep respect and love for the bison, portraying its resilience and grandeur. Each piece is a testament to his hope that these artworks will inspire a renewed appreciation for today’s bison conservation success stories, from historical significance to contemporary efforts. Bison Legacy is more than an exhibition; it is a celebration of the bison’s epic story, which unites us in a shared vision of hope and restoration. Harty envisions these exhibitions, along with Indigenous cultural celebrations and symposiums, as opportunities for communities to come together to reflect on the bison’s unique importance to the spirit of wilderness and to our collective imagination. The bison’s story is a reminder of our capacity to revitalize what was almost lost—a rebirth that touches us deeply and makes us more fully human.

OCTOBER 2024 - JANUARY 2025
Capturing the Wild:
Works by Carl Rungius
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The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies invites you to explore Capturing the Wild, an exhibition celebrating the remarkable work of Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869–1959). Born in Germany and trained at the Berlin Kunstschule and Kunstakademie, Rungius developed his artistic skills through intensive studies of animal anatomy and his passion for the outdoors. His early experience sketching live animals and carcasses led to a realistic painting style that earned him recognition as North America's most important big-game naturalist painter. In 1896, Rungius emigrated to the United States, where he gained prominence as an illustrator for sporting books and magazines. His artistic journey brought him to Banff in 1910, where he was invited by local guide and outfitter Jimmy Simpson. This trip marked the beginning of Rungius’s lifelong connection to the Rockies, where he spent nearly five decades capturing the rugged beauty of the region. Capturing the Wild showcases a selection of Rungius’s paintings and sketches from our collection, offering a glimpse into the evolution of his work. From dynamic depictions of wildlife to majestic landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, Rungius’s art reflects his deep understanding of nature. His innovative approach of situating animals in their natural environments set a new standard in wildlife art. Join us as we celebrate Rungius’s legacy and his enduring influence on the art of the Canadian Rockies.

Ongoing Exhibitions

Ongoing
Available Year Round
Fan Favourites

Peter Whyte & Catharine Robb Whyte

The exhibition delves into the artistic practice of Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte whose love of the outdoors provided endless possibilities to paint a variety of subjects all within close proximity to their Bow River log home. ​ The Whytes’ personal artistic styles were influenced in part by Peter’s earlier awareness of artists Belmore Browne and Aldro T. Hibbard, Catharine’s family philanthropic artistic connections, and the education they both received at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. ​ Together and often painting in close proximity to each other, Peter and Catharine produced hundreds of 8 x 10” oil sketches with many functioning as colour notes for larger canvases. Depending on the weather patterns of the day, these small works were completed within a time frame of 20 minutes to two hours.

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Ongoing
Available Year Round
Heritage Gallery

The Heritage Gallery shares Canadian Rockies history through art, artifacts and archives and library materials. This gallery also has information on Indigenous Peoples, surveying, guiding and outfitting, travel, tourism and more!

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Ongoing
Available Year Round
Treasures Within:
50 Years of Collecting

As well as being talented artists, Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte combined their resources to create this gem of a museum. The land came from the Whyte family and the money from the Robb family. Peter and Catharine painted, purchased, or donated the paintings contained within this exhibition, and some of the artists exhibited here became mentors, friends or confidants. The Founders' Gallery features rotating exhibitions that celebrate the vision and creativity of the Whyte Museum's founders, Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte. Image: Peter Whyte, Bear Street Alley, Banff, 1933, oil on canvas, 27.5 x 35 cm, WyP.01.052

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Upcoming Exhibitions

Upcoming Exhibition
JANUARY 25 - APRIL 13, 2025
MELTDOWN
A Drop in Time
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In honour of the 2025 United Nations International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, MELTDOWN showcases a powerful collection of artworks focusing on glacial landscapes by Jim Elzinga, Roger Vernon, Tiffany Shaw, and Leanne Allison. This exhibition draws viewers deep into the heart of Canada’s glaciers for an unparalleled immersive experience. This exhibition marks the grand opening of Canada’s participation in the UN Glacier Year. Celebrate the grandeur and fragile beauty of the Columbia Icefield, the crowning glory of the Canadian Rockies. Illuminate the meaning and significance of what is being lost. Discover your place in the living systems that sustain us all.

Upcoming Exhibition
OCTOBER 2024 - JANUARY 2025
Capturing the Wild:
Works by Carl Rungius

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies invites you to explore Capturing the Wild, an exhibition celebrating the remarkable work of Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869–1959). Born in Germany and trained at the Berlin Kunstschule and Kunstakademie, Rungius developed his artistic skills through intensive studies of animal anatomy and his passion for the outdoors.

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Upcoming Exhibition
JANUARY 25 - APRIL 13, 2025
Etched in Ice – Photographs by Glen Crawford
The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies invites you to explore Etched in Ice, an exhibition of photographs by Glen Crawford. The images from the Campbell Icefield and surrounding glaciers offer an intimate look at glacier ice in a time of change. Glaciers are typically found in remote hard to access locations. Over decades and centuries, they have existed exhibiting only the changes that have taken place at well, a glacial pace. This means that glacial ice serves as a living archive of Earth's history, preserving ancient layers that record the passage of time. Glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, once steadfast in their frozen stillness have come to represent all that we love about wilderness. The common view of glaciers as lovely white masses of snow and ice adorning high mountain peaks, however, doesn’t consider the reality of climate change. The photographs in this exhibition offer a view of three glaciers and an icefield in a time of accelerated change.
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Previous Exhibitions

JUNE - OCTOBER 2024
J.E.H. MacDonald:
The O'Hara Era

This summer, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is offering a rare opportunity to view over 100 works by Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald from public and private collections. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of his first trip to Lake O'Hara, the exhibition promises to be an exceptional and unique experience, with the Whyte Museum as the sole venue. ​ The show is strengthened by original research conducted by geologists Patricia Cucman and the late Stanley Munn, who meticulously identified the exact locations of MacDonald's works, along with photographs, over the past 18 years. Their findings, documented in a major illustrated book titled To See What He Saw: J.E.H. MacDonald and the O'Hara Years 1924-1932, offer a fresh perspective on MacDonald and his work. Additionally, intriguing discoveries such as paint scrapings and teacup shards have been found in these exact locations, providing further insight into MacDonald's creative process and daily life during his time at Lake O'Hara. ​ Partnering with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and sponsored by Masters Gallery Calgary, we invite you to join us for this breathtaking exhibition featuring mountain landscapes inspired by MacDonald. ​ ​ J.E.H. MacDonald, R.C.A. (1873-1932, Canadian) Cathedral Mountain from Opabin Pass, 1929, oil on board. Collection of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Gift of Catharine Robb Whyte, O.C., Banff, 1979.

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OCTOBER 2024 - JANUARY 2025
Capturing the Wild:
Works by Carl Rungius

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies invites you to explore Capturing the Wild, an exhibition celebrating the remarkable work of Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869–1959). Born in Germany and trained at the Berlin Kunstschule and Kunstakademie, Rungius developed his artistic skills through intensive studies of animal anatomy and his passion for the outdoors.

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APRIL - JUNE 2024
Ilana Manolson – Time: In the Mountains
Time: In the Mountains strives to capture the different heartbeats of the earth over time, observed by Ilana Manolson while painting, hiking, and working in the Rocky Mountains. A distinguished painter, printmaker, and naturalist who has been shown in galleries throughout North America, Manolson combines her talents here to create visually confounding and expansive works that unfurl like rivers, trails, and scrolls. Unrolling to reveal the story as it goes, these scrolls effectively use the layering of mediums and materials to create a visual narrative for the viewer to follow. The only repeated detail lies in painted marks embedded in the work that act as a kind of EKG-like rhythm depicting the heartbeat of the Earth. Based on the Schumann Resonance, a magnetic tone found in Earth’s ionosphere, this heartbeat has recently started to increase in pace, indicating to Manolson that damage is being done to the Earth’s health. Using these marks and pools of paint to transform landscapes into equivalencies of tenacious life in which some species thrive and others disappear, Manolson manipulates the fluidity of her medium and it becomes a metaphor for the resurgence and the dying. She celebrates the natural world and its ineffable mysteries, even as we are aware of potential disasters. Even in the coming apart, there is great beauty. Image: Ilana Manolson, Current, (detail), 69” x 75”, Acrylic on Yupo.
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Upcoming Exhibition
OCTOBER 2024 - JANUARY 2025
Capturing the Wild:
Works by Carl Rungius

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies invites you to explore Capturing the Wild, an exhibition celebrating the remarkable work of Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869–1959). Born in Germany and trained at the Berlin Kunstschule and Kunstakademie, Rungius developed his artistic skills through intensive studies of animal anatomy and his passion for the outdoors.

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APRIL - JUNE 2024
Menagerie of Dissapearance
Menagerie of Disappearance unites four unique artists, each employing diverse mediums to explore a common theme. Through photography, textiles, sculpture, and drawing, these artists provoke contemplation of our evolving environment. With an international presence, they join together to collectively narrate the tale of our troubled relationships with the creatures and environments around us. Highlighting the tension between perceived life and what is lifeless through a series of taxidermy raptors, Eva Brandl showcases photographic work honed over a forty-year career. Brandl invites viewers to parse out hinted narratives in her work that she’s sown through the use of staged backgrounds and forced perspectives. Jude Griebel’s monolithic towers of miniatures are complex structures that serve to highlight themes of waste, excess, and lived experiences balanced against the obvious amount of time and care needed to create each creature. His attention to detail and the size of each work invite closer scrutiny by viewers to identify the individual within the mass. Tamara Kostianovsky transforms repurposed textiles into sculptural carcasses, drawing lines between consumerism, fast fashion, and the relationships between humans and animals. Currently based in New York, Kostianovsky has been creating textile sculptures that delicately walk the line between engaging and shocking for twenty years. Working with specimens stored in the private collections at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Lorraine Simms has created a series of highly detailed graphite drawings of shadows cast by the skulls and bones of endangered animals. These beautifully haunting drawings offer evidence of disappearance, both of individual animals and of their species. Image: Jude Griebel, Dismantled World, 42” x 24” x 28”, 2023. Carved wood, bio-resin, air-drying clays, acrylic. Photo credit: Blaine Campbell.
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Upcoming Exhibition
OCTOBER 2024 - JANUARY 2025
Capturing the Wild:
Works by Carl Rungius

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies invites you to explore Capturing the Wild, an exhibition celebrating the remarkable work of Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869–1959). Born in Germany and trained at the Berlin Kunstschule and Kunstakademie, Rungius developed his artistic skills through intensive studies of animal anatomy and his passion for the outdoors.

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Exposure Exhibition
JANUARY - APRIL 2024
Arto Djerdjerian: Ya Ha Tinda - The Ranch 
Photographer Arto Djerdjerian showcases an intimate view of everyday life at the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, where horses are wintered and trained for use by Parks Canada staff in our national mountain parks. Djerdjerian has been photographing life at Canada's only federally owned and operated working horse ranch for six years. His work provides a window into a special place that has rarely been photographed, revealing the gritty hard work of ranch life, magnificent animals, and a stunning landscape. ​ Born in Cairo, Egypt to Armenian parents, Djerdjerian was raised in Montreal where he went on to study photography, practicing seriously since the age of sixteen. Living and working in Alberta since 1977, Djerdjerian has dedicated himself full-time to his practice as a photographer. He continues to expand his vision through landscape photography, from the urban worlds of New York City and Montreal to the backyard wilderness of Alberta and Wyoming. Image: Arto Djerdjerian, On the Nose, July 2019. Digital print.
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