Henry Sandham

Canadian, 1842–1910

Portrait of Mr. A.W. Ogilvie, 1888

oil on canvas

76.5 x 61 cm

Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Acquired with the assistance of Mr. and Mrs. G. Hugh A. Swan in memory of his grandmother, Mrs. Hugh Phillips

G-82-10

Categories:

Painting, Canadian Historical (1800-1910)

Alexander Walker Ogilvie was a leading member of Montreal’s elite Anglophone community. Before the creation of the grain pools in 1920, all grain was purchased by private companies, and Ogilvie had established himself as a successful flour miller. Ogilvie Mills opened a branch in Winnipeg in 1895. Henry Sandham was likely introduced to Ogilvie through the photographer William Notman. Notman worked briefly in the Ogilvie milling business before establishing a photography studio in Montreal, where Sandham was employed in the 1860s and 1870s. At the time this portrait was painted, Ogilvie was a Conservative Senator, appointed by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. A year later, Ogilvie and several other supporters commissioned Sandham to paint the official portrait of Macdonald, displayed today in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.