Members of the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission prepare for the Cameron King painting exhibition at the McAdam Railway Station. From left are Elsie Carroll and Dave McInroy, who are holding a perspective drawing of Canadian Pacific 2858, and Gail Swan, who's holding a Christmas greeting card signed by Richard Hatfield.

15 October 2011

Paintings on Display at McAdam Train Station

McAdam New Brunswick - For the first time in 25 years, the paintings of Cameron King (1915-99) will be on display.
 
The exhibition entitled "A Bygone Era" will be held Saturday and Sunday at the McAdam Railway Station.
 
Saturday's showing, with wine and cheese available, will run from 2-8 p.m. with the official opening ceremonies held at 2 p.m. Sunday's showing, with railway pie available, will be from 2-6 p.m.
 
Admission is by donation, with the proceeds funding station projects by the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission.
 
King was born in Plaster Rock and graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1936 with a bachelor of science in civil engineering.
 
Except for two years during which he served in the RCAF, he worked for the Aluminum Company of Canada from 1940-46. From 1946 to his retirement in 1975, King was employed in the CPR's chief engineers office. His work inspired his interest in drawing steam locomotives.
 
From 1976-80, King was employed with the Department of Natural Resources in Fredericton.
 
Between 1973-97, King produced 219 paintings, including 55 elevation paintings, and 64 perspective paintings. He was a self-taught painter.
 
"The side elevations of locomotives are painstakingly detailed," said the brochure for the showing. "Painting them would take 80 to 90 hours to complete and required extensive research and study of engineering erection drawings, blueprints, countless documents, and photographs."
 
There are four of these elevation paintings in the showing, which have been loaned from the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
 
Also unique to his painting style is the orientation of the locomotive, Canadian National locomotives are "to the right" and Canadian Pacific locomotives are "to the left". He also omitted line fences, telegraph poles and lines, from his paintings.
 
The 11 large perspective paintings, ranging in size from 40 centimetres by 51 centimetres to 53 cm by 69 cm, were drawn in pen and ink using an engineering drafting method of precisely laying out the perspective view. The colour of the locomotives and the landscape background were completed in watercolour. There are several 13 cm x 20 cm paintings on loan as well.
 
Dave McInroy, a member of the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission, lives in Florenceville and has been instrumental in bringing this exhibition to the station.
 
All the owners of the King original paintings that McInroy approached gave their permission for their artwork to be in the exhibition, he said.
 
In the late '70s, McInroy received two prints of King's side elevation drawings.
 
"CPR was giving them out as promotional gifts," said McInroy, who worked for CPR for seven years and has been interested in trains since he was a child.
 
"That was the first time I saw the name of Cameron King. In 2004, I saw the name again and my parents bought me three of the prints. That set me to thinking, Who is this guy?"
 
Through his research, he discovered the man behind the paintings.
 
King was a member of the Society of Steam Era Artists of America, Canadian Railway Historical Association, the Fredericton Society of Artists, and has exhibited his work both in the U.S. and Canada.