John Hammond

2025—Visual Arts

John Hammond, RCA

Orginally from Montreal, Hammond came to Sackville in 1893 as Head of the Fine Arts Department at the Mount Allison Ladies’ College, and Administrator of the Owens Art Gallery. He is a significant figure in the history of art education in Canada and influenced generations of art students.

Hammond had a lasting impact on the architectural history of the town, designing the iconic fountain in the Ladies’ College Pond, and the Hammond Gates on York St. He had several houses built in town, including Hammond House, designed by Edmund Burke, the architect who designed the Owens Art Gallery.

An exhibitor at the Paris Salon and a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Hammond was one of Canada’s top artists during his lifetime and created a vast oeuvre of work. He was commissioned to paint in the  Canadian Rockies, Japan, and China by his patron, Sir William Van Horne, but his favourite subject was the foggy Bay of Fundy. An extremely well-known, well-loved, well-respected community member, Hammond was deeply religious; he lived “simply and sincerely,” and painted because he loved to paint.