By Sarah Klein
The mural above the elevator at The Bay downtown. (CHRISTIAN CASSIDY / WESTENDDUMPLINGS.BLOGSPOT.CA)
The Manitoba Museum has received a historic artifact from the Hudson’s Bay Company collection dating back 87 years.
The provincial government is marking the 20th anniversary of its inheritance of prized Hudson’s Bay Company artifacts and company archives, while also noting the 40th anniversary of the historic articles arriving in Canada.
HBC formally donated its archives to the province in 1994 after its collection was brought to Canada in 1974 and the company moved its headquarters to Winnipeg from London.
Claudette Leclerc, CEO of the Manitoba Museum, says it’s extremely grateful to HBC for a recent artifact donation of the Pioneer at Fort Garry, a 16.5-metre by 3-metre oil-on-canvas mural, which had been a fixture in the Hudson’s Bay Winnipeg Downtown store since 1927.
“Their long-standing support of the HBC Museum Collection and the Nonsuch display has enriched the museum experience for anyone who visits,” said Leclerc.
The HBC History Foundation funds and supports the operations of the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives as a division of the Archives of Manitoba, the HBC artifact collection at the Manitoba Museum and the publication of the Canada’s History magazine by Canada’s National History Society.
The Hudson’s Bay Company archival records from 1670 to 1920 are available for viewing and research purposes at the Archives of Manitoba located at 200 Vaughn Street.
