The art of the canoe at show

SALISBURY — Carl Williams has been collecting canoe art since about 1965, he says, and some of the finest examples, plus a couple of canoes, are on display this month at the Tremaine Gallery at the Salisbury School.

Williams was on hand Friday night at a reception for the show. After representatives from the gallery came to his house and chose the exhibits for the show, “I was able to hang stuff again,� he said.

He added that he has about 120 more pieces, originals and prints, at home in frames.

“And 200 more in the attic. Probably.�

The collection also includes a lot of models.

For decades, Williams took boys on wilderness canoe trips in central Quebec. The exhibit includes a brochure from Camp Kapitachouane, which states its mission of teaching groups of up to nine boys how to be outdoorsmen.

“Small in size and run informally,� reads the brochure. “Teaches boys the fundamentals of camping and canoeing.�

First Selectman Curtis Rand counts himself as an alumnus.

Visitors at the reception were intrigued by a birch bark canoe, made by Billy Commanda, a legendary canoe maker from the Maniwaki First Nations Reserve in Quebec, about 100 miles north of Ottawa.

“The birch bark skill almost died out,� Williams commented.

“They’re light and sturdy,� he said, hefting the canoe up from the stand. “And you can patch them in the woods.�

The Tremaine Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is located in the lower level of the Centennial Library and Humanities Building at the Salisbury School, 251 Canaan Road (Route 44).

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