Nicholas Everard Morant (29 June 1910 – 13 March 1999) was a Canadian photographer who produced iconic images of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

Career

Morant was the special photographer of the Canadian Pacific from 1929 until 1935, and then again from 1944 until his retirement in 1981. His work was especially influential in promoting tourism in Western Canada and the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

and included many images of the Canadian Pacific's flagship streamliner ''

The Canadian ''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...

''. One of Morant's favourite shooting locations is located in the

East of

Lake Louise, Alberta Lake Louise is a hamlet within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Named after Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, it lies in Alberta's Rockies on the Bow River, northeast of the lake that shares its name. Initially settled in 1884 as an ...

where the CPR mainline parallels the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

. This location now bears the geographic placename Morant's Curve in his honour. Accessible from the

Bow Valley Parkway Highway 1A is the designation of two alternate routes off the Alberta Highway 1, Alberta portion of Trans-Canada Highway 1. However, it is not the only name used for spurs off Highway 1 - Alberta Highway 1X, Highway 1X is another such designation. ...

, it remains a favourite of photographers. His images were not only used in promotional material for the railway but also were used subsequently in Canadian currency and postage stamps. His images also appeared in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'', and ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

''. Reverse of $10 banknote, Canada 1954 Series, "Devil's Head" printing.jpg, Reverse of 1954 Canadian $10 banknote based on a photograph of Nicholas Morant Reverse of $100 banknote, Canada 1954 Series, "Devil's Head" printing.jpg, Reverse of 1954 Canadian $100 banknote based on a photograph of Nicholas Morant From 1935 to 1939, Morant also found employment as a news photographer for the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'', but returned to the Canadian Pacific in 1939. Serious injuries from a bear attack in 1939 precluded his enlistment in the military during

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but he was "loaned" to the Canadian Bureau of Public Information as a wartime photographer between 1940 and 1944, during which period he extensively documented the Canadian war effort. An image from this era was engraved for use on a Canadian fifty cent stamp of the time. His photos were also subsequently featured on the backs of Canadian currency. This included the Canadian $10 bill of the 1954 series, featuring of a scene of Emerald Lake and Mount Burgess in

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordere ...

photographed by Morant and engraved by Harry P. Dawson. The $100 Canadian bill of the 1954 series featured an image of

Okanagan Lake Okanagan Lake () is a lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The lake is long, between wide, and has a surface area of 348 km2 (135 sq. mi.). Hydrography Okanagan Lake is called a fjord lake as it has been carved o ...

captured by Morant in 1947 and engraved by William Ford. The final image of Morant's to appear on Canadian currency was an engraving based on a photograph of

Moraine Lake Moraine Lake is a snow and glacially fed alpine lake in Banff National Park, outside the village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, at an elevation of approximately . The lake has a surface area of ...

in the

Valley of the Ten Peaks Valley of the Ten Peaks () is a valley in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, which is crowned by ten notable peaks and also includes Moraine Lake. The valley can be reached by following the Moraine Lake road near Lake Louise. The ten peaks ...

, which was featured on the $20 bill from the 1969

Scenes of Canada Scenes of Canada is the fourth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada. It was first circulated in 1970 to succeed the 1954 Canadian Landscape series and was followed by the 1986 Birds of Canada banknote series. ...

banknote series. As he worked for the majority of his career as a commercial photographer, relatively few of his images appear to be presently in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. However, the Canadian Pacific Railway archives maintains over 12,000 images captured by Morant over the course of his career, and the

Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is located in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The museum collects, preserves, and exhibits materials related to the cultural heritage of the Rocky Mountains of Canada, making them available for education as well as ...

maintains the Nicholas Morant Fonds, which contains over 50,000 photographs by or of Morant, as well as numerous negatives, scrapbooks, and sound recordings. In 1990, Morant was invested as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in honour of his valuable contributions to Canadian heritage and culture. 1 morants curve 2019

References

External links

Online Nicholas Morant Gallery
at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies
"CP remembers Nicholas Morant"
at ''Trains'' Magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Morant, Nicholas 1910 births 1999 deaths Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian photographers

Career

References

Further reading

External links