The
infatuation with the North: Haycock
made at least one and often two or three
trips to the Arctic every year after retirement
in 1965. His love of the north seemed to
increase with each trip. Exhibitions were
now held wherever he painted --Yellowknife,
Whitehorse, Alert, Thule, Eureka to name
a few. His work captured the feeling of the
landscape. He was able to depict form and
movement with powerful brush strokes. His
paintings were and are immediately embraced
by all familiar with the subject area of
the country.
By
the 1970's Haycock had become fascinated with
early exploration in the Arctic. When he had
originally gone north 1926, he was actually
a part of those early explorations. Other countries
were mapping northern islands as well, and Canadian
sovereignty of the Arctic Archipelago depended
on Canada mapping and establishing RCMP outposts
on the Arctic Islands. Now, in his travels Haycock
was seeing well preserved cairns, remains of
ships, dwellings, gravesites and caches from
those days and centuries earlier. There were
even remains of the early Denbigh Culture, ancestors
of the Inuit, who migrated from Russia over
four thousand years ago.
Haycock
began a new quest. He desired to paint the history
of the North. He absorbed everything he could
about early settlement, the Search for the Northwest
Passage, and especially the Franklin Expedition
whose fate is still being unraveled. He acquired
a large library of documents and was instrumental
in several discoveries including the sunken
barque Breadalbane in 1980. He also put together
a huge collection of his own historical and
geographical photographs, movies, slides, videos,
and audio recordings.
And
he amassed a phenomenal collection of paintings
telling a story of early Inuit settlements,
white man's exploration, and vast powerful
vistas of land and sea.
Photo:
Maurice Haycock Recording History at Fort
Conger, Ellesmere Island.
Photo by Dr. Robert Christie
Follow
the links to read about the various chapters
of his life:
Youth
Introduction to the North
and to A.Y. Jackson
Scientific Career/
Musical Pursuits
Early
Painting/The call of the
North
The
Infatuation of the North
An Active
Philanthropist
Haycock's
Memory |
