In his Fort Simpson, the structure of the colonial fort, with its lookout towers, is positioned in the middle, a partition between the hills and the shoreline. In the space between the fort and the water, that fills the lower half of the painting, are the buildings and totem poles that make up the Indigenous village outside Fort Simpson’s walls. The single-storey structures – with raised foundations to accommodate the rise and fall of the water – are the style of buildings that his artistic contemporaries, such as Emily Carr and A.Y. Jackson, also documented. In their work, there is often a noticeable absence of human figures. By contrast, Alexcee’s scene is animated by people – adults congregating outside the ramp of a longhouse, children running together along the beach, people coming and going in boats, a dog standing alongside two figures. Because the painting is relatively small, the figures are tiny. Despite being dominated by the surrounding architecture, they provide a rhythm within the work that compels the viewer to draw closer. Alexcee’s brushstrokes are succinct gestures through which he communicates so much about the period.

Read full article on National Gallery of Canada Magazine.