Cliff Swanlund

In the summer of 2016 I was fortunate to be an Artist in Residence at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on Bow Lake on the Icefields highway.

Jimmy Simpson built the lodge and this small cabin which was his private home. He was a guide and amateur artist who invited artists of the day from Eastern Canada and the U.S. to come to the lodge to paint. They would often pay for their stay by donating paintings, many of which are now held by the Glenbow museum in Calgary. Carl Rungius was one of the most notable of these artists.

The owner in 2016, Tim Whyte, formerly from Winnipeg, had continued the tradition. I was fortunate to stay in Jimmy’s old cabin for the night, sharing the space with the friendly ghosts that reside there. A similar smaller painting to this one hangs in the Lodge, in payment for the night.