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The Adventure Zone

Past stories The Calgary Stampede Moraine for Life Adventure Relay Monarch Redux Rockies Bird Festival Arctic Winter Games Bolivia's Acotango Mount Kilimanjaro The Drambuie Pursuit Canadian Aboriginal Festival Mountain Mania Adventure racing Manitoulin Island Star Party Celebration of Light Algonquin Park Ottawa Race Weekend Maple syrup festival Cain's Quest Have Snowshoes, Will Travel Quebec Ice Hotel In the Eye of the Storm Arctic Aurora Borealis Canada's 'Deep South' Agawa Canyon Ablaze Mahone Bay Boat Festival Vancouver Island's rocky trail Wild Women Expeditions Eco-Endurance Summiting Canada Gourmet getaway Yukon Arctic Ultra Canadian Wind Riders Winnipeg's urban pathways Canoeist/artist Bill Mason Take a hike Whitewater kayaking The 2005 Sea Cavalcade Moonstruck - Adventure racers Delta Marsh Birding Festival Climb for conservation The Eagle has Landed Gold Rush Trail Whistler Film Festival Fit to ski Whyte Museum of the Rockies Cheakamus Challenge "Super Dave" Norona Ontario's French River region Cabot Trail Relay Race Point Pelee Festival of Birds Canmore Ice Climbing Festival Winterlude Yeti Mountain Snowshoe Series Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club Banff Mountain Book Festival Haliburton Highlands Sand Sculpture Championships BC Mobility Society Bathtub Race Championship Bike Month Running off the road Birds of a Feather Grand Plans in Grand Cache Le Festival du Voyageur Raid Ukatak Around the World Alone November culinary adventure Mountains in Miniature In the Belly of the Dragon Raid the North Extreme!! Making a splash! Volunteer for nature Cycling for sustainability Working for Wildlife Whale of a time Canadian Death Race Mont Tremblant Skiing Nanook of the North Eco-challenge Climate Change Caravan Royal Regatta Unleash the hounds World Cup mountain bike race Yukon River Quest On top of the world Canada's World-Class Heritage Gliding across the silver screen Marathon Madness National Ski and Snowboard Week Christmas Bird Count Banff Festival Adventure racing Coast-to-coast trek Whitewater rodeos In praise of parks Watching Canada's wildlife Canada's Highest Peak Alaska Adventure Racer

Although their worlds couldn't have been farther apart, the serendipitous encounter between Peter Whyte and fellow student Catharine Robb at the Boston Museum School of Fine Art in 1927 would lead to a remarkable union. The son of a small-town dry goods merchant, Whyte hailed from Banff, Alberta, while Robb was a privileged debutante from New England. Married in 1930, the couple made Whyte's hometown the base from which to explore and paint the mountain wilderness they both loved.

Dedicated landscape and portrait artists, they have left a body of work that helps define Western Canada and the courageous spirit of the First Nations people, trappers, guides and adventurers who called it home. But the Whytes were also caretakers of the human and natural history of their community, astutely gathering the aboriginal and pioneer artifacts that tell its story. Today, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is their inspired legacy to Canadians everywhere.

Established in 1958 through a foundation to preserve their collection, the Museum was built in 1968 beside the couple's log home. Part art gallery, part archives and library, part heritage collection, it anchors the town of Banff in its past and present. The Museum's rich holding of texts, photographs, film and sound recordings is a historian's treasure trove. Its art collection, which "reflects the nature and development of the visual arts in the Rockies," includes some 4,000 works - paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, prints and crafts - all of which have been made by artists who have either lived in the area or been inspired by it to create art.

As custodian of the Alpine Club of Canada Library, with memorabilia and journal collections from mountain culture all over the world, the Whyte Museum is also a natural destination for adventurers. The opening celebrations of the 2004 Banff Mountain Book Festival will be held here on November 3, to coincide with an exhibition "Alberta: Four Artists, 100 Years of Painting." To learn more, visit www.whyte.org