Mount Assiniboine, 8 x 10 Giclée on wood frame

CATHARINE ROBB WHYTE (1906 – 1979)

Catharine Robb Whyte was born in Concord, Massachusetts and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1925. There she met Peter Whyte whom she married in 1930. The two settled in Banff, and from there hiked the mountains and painted the surrounding majestic vistas. Catharine learned much about landscape painting from her husband as well as from Carl Rungius, Belmore Brown and J.E.H. Macdonald. She painted primarily in the Canadian Rockies. In 1958 Catharine and Peter formed the Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa foundation (later the Whyte Foundation) dedicated to the preservation and collecting of art and historical materials. Following Peter’s death in 1965, Catharine resumed skiing, became an important patron of the arts, and as a result of her support of the Stoney people, was given the name Princess White Shield. In 1969 Catherine received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Calgary, and Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Banff Kiwanis Club. In 1978 she received the award of merit from the Historical Society of Alberta and Canada’s highest civilian honor, the Order of Canada. The Whyte Museum is Catharine and Peter’s legacy to the people of Canada and is a fitting place to celebrate their love of art.