Donna L Munro Art Collections

James Wharton Restorations

This is the artwork of James Wharton, my great-great grandfather done during his childhood at about the ages of 11-12. I have test printed sizes up to 12" x 18" for perfecting the image outputs for gallery framing. For printing smaller sizes in the 5"x7" range, select the version "gallery without the paper edge" to get the center image larger. I left the 5 x 7 border for printing for plaque mount/canvas or for presenting the print without a mat. I highly recommend this art to pubs and hotels. I've framed and matted it and it looks great. Excluding the Walmer Castle, the other three look like a great matched set. The Walmer Castle stands on its own as a piece because of its shape. The first 4 print sizes will be kept to a reasonable price to make it accessible for the home and condo art gallery spaces. For pubs with limited gallery space, I recommend anywhere between a 5" x 7" to about a 12" x 20" if you like large frames. The sample I am showcasing an example framing of is a bordered/12" x 20". Here is a biography on James Wharton: This is a drawing done by James Wharton. James Wharton was born April 5, 1853 at #7 Adlington St. in the county of Lancashire, Liverpool, England. He attended Sefton School. He loved to draw. He spent hours drawing the countryside and architecture around him. His work appears to be an extension of a school art program. He did sketches, and in a few of these he made use of pointillism which was just new at that time. He did most of his drawing when he was 11 and 12. When James grew up, he became a railroad/steam engineer. He married Margaret Orme. He and his family came to North America. His family arrived in New York in the month of March, 1882. The trip on the ship took 14 days, and his wife was never so sick. After the boat trip, he and his wife boarded a train headed for Portland, Oregon, USA. His trip to Portland to join a friend was rerouted when they met a land agent on the train. That land agent helped James pick his homestead property from a land map of the new development near Brandon, Manitoba. So, James and Margaret rerouted their trip to Canada. They traveled by boat up the Red River to Winnipeg, Manitoba and then up the Assiniboine River to Brandon, Manitoba. They got a team of oxen and a wagon in Brandon and travelled 20 miles to their homestead. They settled in the municipality of Oakland 5 miles from the little town of Nesbitt. James did two jobs: farming and working at the Gregory Mill on the Souris River which was 3 miles from their homestead. James was injured in a farming accident in 1904. He was carrying a bag of oats on his shoulder down from the loft of the granary when a step on the ladder broke and he fell backwards onto a set of heavy farm scales. He landed on his back and was badly injured. He was unconscious when they found him. James� family lifted and brought him to the house. The doctors did not seem to be able to help him. James lived for 2 more years, and slept in a chair to keep comfortable. He died January 7, 1906 at the age of 52 years, nine months. James left behind drawings he had made in England. These drawings were preserved and are a very tangible link with our grandfather we never knew and to his childhood home. Donna would like to acknowledge D'Angelo Studio Calgary (experts in digital restorations) in the initial work of restoring this image set. The image of James Wharton here looks an awful lot like my Dad. Families carry their resemblances in their eyes.