Acknowledgements

“To Alice Ross, Old Golf Link House, Birch Point,” by W.A. Goodwin. Oil-on-Fungus, 1933.

The Life and Art of W.A. Goodwin (1840-1940) brings a story that first captivated visitors at the Olde Gaol Museum between 2015 and 2020 to a digital audience. The Victoria County Historical Society would like to thank the following individuals and organizations who have since 2014 contributed to the rediscovery of W.A. Goodwin’s life and art.

A special thank you to Jane Still, great-granddaughter of W. A. Goodwin, and her husband Dana Still, for their enthusiasm for this exhibit and their continued generosity with information and artefacts.

Also, thank you to:
Rosemarie Condon
Meri Newton
Sherry McNaulty
Sturgeon Point Association
Kawartha Lakes Public Library

Exhibit Curator: Ian McKechnie
Translation: Lyne Archambault
Video Editing: Katerina Alexakis
Photography: Jamon Camisso

The extent of W.A. Goodwin’s artistic output remains unknown, and for reasons of space only a small portion of the surviving collection could be featured in this exhibit. However, the VCHS remains on the lookout for additional works by both W.A. Goodwin himself and his daughter, Amy Matilda “Tillie” Ross.

Further Reading

Ian McKechnie, “W.A. Goodwin (1840-1940), Artist of Old Victoria County,” in Looking For Old Victoria County, ed. R.B. Fleming (Orillia, ON: Rose Printing, 2017, Pgs. 15-20).  A reflection on the meaning of Goodwin’s art in historical context.

Cherry Tree Lodge is featured on the City of Kawartha Lakes’ Arts & Heritage Trail

If you are visiting Lindsay, Ontario, the Victoria County Historical Society invites you to stop by the Olde Gaol Museum – a 19th Century jail-turned-community museum featuring a variety of permanent and rotating exhibits. A half-hour’s drive to the north will bring you to W.A. Goodwin’s beloved Sturgeon Point, where Cherry Tree Lodge is open to visitors most weekends between June 1st and August 31st. Both the Olde Gaol Museum and Cherry Tree Lodge are featured on the City of Kawartha Lakes’ Arts & Heritage Trail – a series of cultural destinations that include artisan studios, craft shops, galleries, historic sites, museums, and theatres.

The Olde Gaol Museum, Lindsay, ON. (Photo courtesy of Jerad Zitman, used with permission).

This exhibition was supported by the Community Stories Investment Program of the Virtual Museum of Canada, which helps smaller Canadian museums and heritage organizations work with their communities to develop online exhibits that engage audiences in the stories, past and present, of Canada’s communities.