De Pan

Historical Paddle Paintings McCord Museum

Here are two interesting paintings by Cornelius Krieghoff in the collection of the McCord museum in Montreal. The essentially represent the same scene with subtle differences between them. In both, you can see a seated figure with painted paddle decorated in a chevron pattern, a seemingly common theme in many paddle paintings.


Aboriginal Camp in Lower Canada
Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872)
1847, 19th century


Paddle Closeup
In another similar version, the shaft and bobble grip of the paddle are in view. Also noticed that the chevron pattern on the paddle is now "pointing" in the opposite direction.


Indian Wigwam in Lower Canada
Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872)
About 1850, 19th century


Paddle closeup