Historical Mural's Future In Question

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Henry George Glyde, “Alberta History,” 1951, mural, 8.5' x 21' (photo courtesy University of Alberta)

The University of Alberta is asking the public to weigh in on the future of a deteriorating 1951 mural by Henry George Glyde that portrays what some call a “racist” version of Indigenous and colonial history.

The Edmonton university is seeking feedback by Aug. 2 on the mural, a gift from Glyde, a British-born artist who headed the institution’s art department. Located in a reading room in the Rutherford Library, the mural depicts missionaries and Indigenous people outside Fort Edmonton in the mid-1800s.

The university struck a working group in 2021 after receiving complaints that the mural, Alberta History, “causes harm and is racist.” As well, the mural is “actively deteriorating” and could require costly conservation to ensure its survival, the university notes in an online summary. It outlines several options, ranging from removing or covering the mural to leaving it in place with didactic panels that discuss challenging issues.

A 2019 report by the Canadian Conservation Institute notes the complexity and expense of conserving the mural, created with charcoal, pencil crayon, crayon, casein and dammar varnish on plaster. It measures eight-and-a-half feet high by 21 feet wide.

“All options to preserve the mural raise the question of long-term stability afterwards due to the mural’s current poor condition and the instability of the material used to create the work,” the university notes.

“The room’s environmental conditions, primarily a library space and not a purpose-built gallery space, further limit the viability of any in-situ conservation treatment. As the mural is painted directly onto the wall, removal of the mural for retention purposes is risky and the success rate for removal is estimated to be only 50 per cent.”

“Removing the mural may damage it, and removal may affect the structure of the wall as part of it would need to be removed as well. Either of these preservation actions – in situ conservation treatment or removal for retention – require a commitment to monitoring and maintaining the mural indefinitely, the costs of which could be extensive given the mural’s inherent instability.”

Artist Tanya Harnett, the university’s associate dean of Indigenous relations, says the mural should be left in the library, where difficult histories can be addressed in didactic panels.

“This allegorical painting is largely based on historical fact,” she writes in an open letter to the community. “Yes, there is some difficult content there, for sure. Settler colonialism is a difficult subject for many to address, especially in Alberta. This is a young province.”

“As a First Nation person, I am truly upset to learn that this work could be destroyed. The important historical Indigenous events depicted in this mural should not be subject to erasure.” ■

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