HBC at Fort Ross

9.5″ × 16″, oil on linen (2016) Fort Ross, Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada

From the INTO THE ARCTIC Project

In 1937 the Hudson’s Bay Company established their last trading post in the Canadian Arctic. It operated for 11 years in the harsh Arctic environment at the edge of Bellot Strait, eventually giving in to the challenges of severe ice and inaccessibility. Through its windows I saw a coffee pot and cups on the stove and an old sofa in the corner – abandoned, forlorn, forgotten. I could almost hear voices of the past as I painted.