Wallace Robinson MacAskill (1887–25 January 1956), better known as W. R. MacAskill, was a Canadian photographer known for his seascapes and depictions of ships. He is particularly recognized for his photographs of the ''

Bluenose ''Bluenose'' was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, ''Bluenose'' under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and ...

'', two of which were used on the Bluenose postage stamp in 1929. MacAskill was born and raised in the seaside town of

St. Peter's, Nova Scotia St. Peter's (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Pheadair''; formerly known as "Santo Pedro", "Saint-Pierre", "Port Toulouse", and "St. Peters") is a small incorporated village located on Cape Breton Island in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Richmond Count ...

, where he learned to sail as a young child. At 17, he moved to New York to attend the Wade School of Photography. After graduating in 1907, he moved back to St. Peters' and opened a photography studio. He would later work in

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated ...

and in Halifax. Alongside his photography career, MacAskill took part in recreational sailing and

yacht racing Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course mark ...

. In 1924, his work was exhibited at the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

. In 1926, he married Elva Abriel, who was also a professional photographer. MacAskill published two books of photography: ''Out of Halifax'' in 1937 and ''Lure of the Sea'' in 1951. He was elected a fellow of the Photographers Society of America in 1954, and ran a photography studio in Halifax until his death from

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

in 1956. MacAskill's wife, Elva (1891-1968) continued to run the studio until eight years after his death. MacAskill's photographs are held in the collections of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, the

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum, formerly known as the McCord Museum of Canadian History, is a public research and teaching museum. The Museum’s Archives, Documentary Art, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, Indigenous Cultures, Material Culture and Photogr ...

, and the

Cape Breton University Cape Breton University (CBU) is a public university located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the only post-secondary degree-granting institution within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and on Cape Breton Island. The university is enabl ...

Art Gallery. The house in which he was born, now known as the MacAskill House, is recognized by Nova Scotia's Heritage Property Act and houses a museum dedicated to his work.

Notes

References

External links

*
Works by Wallace MacAskill at the Nova Scotia Archives
20th-century Canadian photographers People from Cape Breton Island Artists from Nova Scotia 1887 births 1956 deaths Canadian expatriates in the United States {{Canada-photographer-stub