Verner’s Sandwich

Verner’s Sandwich presents the late 19^th century watercolours of Canadian artist Frederick Arthur Verner. The son of Arthur Cole Verner, Mayor of Sandwich, ON in 1878, 1884 and 1885, Verner is celebrated locally for his role in picturing historical Sandwich Towne through his pastoral landscape scenes painted during family life in Sandwich. Verner, born in Sheridan, ON admired the works of Paul Kane and Lucius O`Brien as a young artist for their subliminal understanding of light and colour as well as their intentions to depict, through the land a Canadian identity. Like them, Verner was moved by the profound presence of the Canadian sky and yearned to translate his experiences of nature into his work. In this exhibition, the historical experience of Sandwich, Ontario is captured in 12 picturesque watercolours. Although romantically reminiscent of a city’s landscape, the works in the context of The Sandwich Project perform an homage to Windsor’s once upon a time name – Sandwich.            

Curated by Jaclyn Meloche