William Hind’s gold rush era portraits are as fresh as the day they were painted, and carry the authenticity of a participant rather than an observer.

William George Richardson Hind (1833-1919) emigrated from England in 1852, joining his brother, Henry Youle Hind, explorer and author in Toronto. In 1861, the Hind brothers made an expedition to Labrador, where William made sketches and watercolour paintings of the scenery and the native peoples. These paintings accompanied his brother’s official report.

In spring 1862, William Hind left Toronto to travel with a party of gold-seekers headed for the Cariboo goldfields in the colony of British Columbia. The “Overlanders”, as they were known, crossed the continent travelling westward from the Fort Garry on the Red River, across the prairies and through the Rocky Mountains towards the Cariboo, which was then a site of great activity generated by the discovery of gold.

Provincial Librarian John Hosie discovered a trove of Hind paintings in 1927 in New Brunswick. They form the basis of a strong documentary art collection illuminating the life of prospectors and miners.