The True Face of Sir Isaac Brock

Guy St-Denis

• Publisher: University of Calgary Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9781773850207
• eBook ISBN:
  9781773850238
• Topic: Kunst
• Subtopic: Kunst Allgemein

Major General Sir Isaac Brock is remembered as the Hero of Upper Canada for his defence of what is now Ontario during the War of 1812, and also for his noble death at the Battle of Queenston Heights. In the more than two centuries since then, Brock's likeness has been lost in a confusing array of portraits-most of which are misidentified or conceptual.The 1824 monument constructed to honour Brock's sacrifice was destroyed in 1840 by Benjamin Lett, a disgruntled disciple of William Lyon Mackenzie and critic of the Upper Canadian elite. The replacement and subsequent commemorations emphasized a patriotic desire to visualize the hero's appearance. But despite uncovering an authentic portrait painted only a few years before Brock's death, a series of false faces were promoted to serve competing claims and agendas. St-Denis situates Brock's portraits within an emerging English Canadian imperial nationalism that sought a heroic past which reflected their own aspirations and ambitions. A work of detailed scholarship and a fascinating detective story, The True Face of Sir Isaac Brock details the sometimes petty world of self-proclaimed guardians of the past, the complex process of identification and misidentification that often occurs even at esteemed Canadian institutions, and St-Denis' own meticulous work as he separates fact from fiction to finally reveal Brock's true face.

Notes

preface

1 Charles P. Stacey, “Brock, Sir Isaac,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography V: 109–15. In 1983, when this particular volume of the DCB was published, Stacey was regarded as Canada’s pre-eminent military historian.

2 Sir James H. Craig was the governor-in-chief and military commander of British North America between 1807 and 1811. See: Jean-Pierre Wallot, “Craig, Sir James Henry,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography V: 205–14.

introduction

1 In March of 1814, the sum of £500 was appropriated for the purpose of a monument. See: Ontario, Bureau of Archives, Ninth Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario, “Journal of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada,” 3 (1912): 159.

2 Upper Canada Gazette (York, Upper Canada), 21 Oct., 1824, 347, c. 3.

3 British Colonist (Toronto, Upper Canada), 29 Apr., 1840, 3, c. 5. Although born in Ireland, Lett was raised in Upper Canada and it was there that he developed his rabid anti-British sentiments. After Lett’s death in December of 1858, a sketch of his life was published with a detailed account of his attack upon Brock’s Monument. As the Canadian historian Chris Raible observed, the details of this desecration could only have been supplied by Lett himself. See: Allen County Democrat (Lima, Ohio), 5 Jan., 1859, 1, c. 6; Chris Raible, “Benjamin Lett, Rebel Terrorist,” Beaver 84, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 2002): 13. I am grateful to Chris Raible for directing me to these sources.

4 British Colonist, 5 Aug., 1840, 2, c. 5.

5 Glenn McArthur and Annie Szamosi, William Thomas: Architect, 1799–1860 (Ottawa, Ontario: Archives of Canadian Art/Carleton University Press, c1996), 96–7.

6 Globe (Toronto, Canada West), 14 Oct., 1859, 2, c. 6.

7 Library and Archives Canada, Civil Secretary’s Correspondence, Upper Canada and Canada West, Upper Canada Sundries (RG 5, A1), vol. 71, Nichol to Brock, 17 Mar., 1815, 37,699–701; ibid., Richard Westmacott, “Estimates for a Statue in honor of the late Major General Sir Isaac Brock KB from a Model & Drawing,” 25 Sept., 1816, 37,706–7. The cost for a bronze statue, eight feet (nearly 2.5 metres) in height with a granite pedestal and plinth measuring another ten feet (or just over 3 metres), was estimated at £2,500. A slightly smaller statue would have saved the monument committee £500, but even £2,000 was beyond their limited means.

8 Stephen A. Otto, “Brock’s Two Monuments,” Cuesta (1991/92): 17.

9 Gilbert Auchinleck, “History of the War Between Great Britain and the United States of America, during the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814,” The Anglo-American Magazine III, no. 1 (July 1853): 16. Auchinleck appears to have been influenced by Major John Richardson, who published a similarly worded statement about Brock’s portrait in 1842. See: Major John Richardson, War of 1812 (Brockville, Canada West: John Richardson, 1842), 68.

10 Auchinleck’s articles were later published in book form. While he might have preferred a portrait of Brock for the frontispiece, Auchinleck used one of Lieutenant General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke instead—presumably because he was the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. See: Gilbert Auchinleck, A History of the War between Great Britain and the United States of America, during the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814 (Toronto, Canada West: Maclear and Company, 1855), frontispiece.

11 With particular reference to the heraldic shields adorning the four corners of Brock’s Monument, each is identical and features a fleur-de-lis instead of an eagle. This same mistake was repeated in a memorial window dedicated to Brock, which was installed in the chancel of St. Saviour, the Brock Memorial Church, Queenston, Ontario. As Brock’s heraldic shield is derived from that of the Brock family of Guernsey, which also features a fleur-de-lis, the confusion in Canada is understandable. For Brock’s armorial bearings, see: College of Arms, Letters Patent Granting Arms to Sir Isaac Brock, 15 Feb., 1813; ibid., Letters Patent Granting Supporters to the Arms of Sir Isaac Brock, 15 Feb., 1813. Furthermore, Brock’s arms bear the motto CANADA, and not VINCIT VERITAS as appears beneath the shields on his monument.

12 This, of course, was the most logical approach when the first broad surveys of Canadian art history began to appear. In 1966, John Russell Harper published Painting in Canada: A History. It was followed in 1973 by Dennis R. Reid’s A Concise History of Canadian Painting. See: John Russell Harper, Painting in Canada: A History (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 1966); Dennis R. Reid, A Concise History of Canadian Painting (Toronto, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 1973).

13 There were exceptions among Canada’s military historians, including Dr. J. Mackay Hitsman. See: J. Mackay Hitsman, The Incredible War of 1812: A Military History (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, c1965); ibid., Safeguarding Canada, 1763–1871 (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, c1968).

14 For the beginnings of the transition of Canadian history, from avocation to vocation, see: Donald Wright, The Professionalization of History in English Canada (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, c2005), 28–51.

15 To get a sense of the attitudes among academic historians, see: Carl Berger, The Writing of Canadian History: Aspects of English-Canadian Historical Writing since 1900, 2nd ed. (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, c1986), 218.

16 Alexander Brian McKillop, Pierre Berton: A Biography (Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart, c2008), 558.

17 Ibid., 560. Regarding the inconsistent treatment of historical evidence, see: Keith Walden, review of The Invasion of Canada, by Pierre Berton, in Canadian Historical Review LXII, no. 3 (Sept. 1981): 332.

18 McKillop, Pierre Berton, 561, 564.

19 The only illustrations Berton used are those which embellish his endpapers. A specially commissioned montage of portraits was designed based on each book’s “cast of characters.” Tom McNeely of Toronto was chosen to do the artwork, and he used the profile portrait (pl. 3) for his likeness of Brock.

20 Ludwig Kosche, “Contemporary Portraits of Isaac Brock: An Analysis,” Archivaria 20 (Summer 1985): 22–66.

chapter 1

1 Lieutenant Governor Robinson was the second son of Sir John Beverley Robinson. For the younger Robinson’s viceregal appointment, see: Patrick Brode, “Robinson, John Beverley,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography XII: 908.

2 Lady Edgar [Matilda Ridout], “General Brock’s Portrait,” The Canadian Magazine XXXI, no. 3 (July 1908): 262. In October of 1884, a reporter from the Toronto World was invited to tour the nascent art collection at Government House. In the salle à manger, or dining room, he found a “Gallery of Governors” consisting of fifteen large-sized oil paintings, being portraits of the “most famous governors-generals and lieut-governors that Canada has possessed.” See: Toronto World (Toronto, Ontario), 23 Oct., 1884, 1, c. 7.

3 The Toronto World reported that “Lieut.-governor Robinson has been most assiduous in his efforts to obtain as good a collection as possible. They are all of them copies of the originals done by the well known artist, M[onsieur] Berthon; some painted directly from the originals, others, when these were unattainable, from photographs. The name of the painter will testify to their excellence.” See: Toronto World, 23 Oct., 1884, 1, c. 7.

4 Colonel Robinson could not recall precisely when he made his earlier attempt, only that it was some “some 6 or 7 years or more ago.” See: Trent University, Thomas J. Bata Library, Trent University Archives (TU), Gilbert and Stewart Bagnani Papers (94–016), General Correspondence (series A), Robinson to Robinson, 19 Apr., 1881.

5 John Charles Dent, The Canadian Portrait Gallery, 4 vols (Toronto, Ontario: John B. Magurn, 1880–81), 1: 140; Globe (Toronto, Ontario), 13 Apr., 1877, 238, c. 5.

6 A description that accompanies the engraving (fig. 1) credits Dr. Hodgins with having recently procured the “miniature,” meaning a photographic copy and not the original profile portrait (fig. 3). See: Globe, 13 Apr., 1877, 238, c. 5. In 1906, however, Miss Janet Carnochan claimed that Dr. Egerton Ryerson obtained the photograph, presumably in his capacity as Ontario’s chief superinten...

Table of contents

• Preface
• Plates
• Introduction
• The Viceregal Legacy
• By Way of a Discovery
• All to Prove a Point
• Of Uniforms and Portraits
• An Evolving History
• For Want of a True Face
• A Very Close Call
• In Coming Forward
• Conclusion
• Provenance
• List of Figures and Plates
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index