Horse Packers - Banff, Alberta, Canada - Relief Art Sculptures on Waymarking.com

This small relief plaque by Charles Beil (1894-1976) depicts two men loading a pack horse. It is part of the façade of the 1940 expansion of the Mount Royal Hotel in Banff and commemorates the history of the Brewster family, the owners of the hotel at that time. The Brewsters got their start in Banff tourism as horseback guides and outfitters, a tradition that the family continues to this day.

The plaque is signed "C.A. Beil" and has a Rocking R brand (the letter R over an upturned quarter circle) next to the signature. Charles "Charlie" A. Beil studied under famed western artist Charles Marion Russell (visit link) for four years. When Russell died in 1926, Beil followed his mentor's hearse, leading Russell's favorite horse.

In the 1930s, Beil visited Banff for the first time, and soon made it his residence. He cast bronze sculptures and reliefs, like this one on the front of the Mount Royal Hotel, in his own kiln building on Banff's Cave Avenue. He also painted and sketched.

Beil was a prolific artist, well-known for his works on Western themes. One of his murals is in the dining room of Calgary's Fairmont Palliser hotel; another is in the offices of the Calgary Stampede. He created bronze trophies for the Calgary Stampede's rodeo events, and two dioramas for Banff's Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

Banff-Jasper Collection: Banff's Cowboy Artist - Hidden History at the Mount Royal Hotel
(visit link)

Wikipedia: Charles Beil (visit link)

AFA (Alberta Foundation for the Arts) Virtual Museum: Charles Beil (visit link)

Hodgins Art Auctions: Charles A. (Charlie) Beil (visit link)

Allan J. McIntyre Fine Art: Charles A. Beil (1894-1976) (visit link)

Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies: Charlie and Olive - A story about the Beils (visit link)

Banff Jasper Collection: Historic Timeline of the Mount Royal Hotel (visit link)

American Quarter Horse Association: How to Read a Horse Brand - Ranch History (visit link)

Your impression of the sculpture?: Date Sculpture was opened for vewing?: 01/01/1940 Website for sculpture?: [Web Link] Where is this sculpture?: Mount Royal Hotel 138 Banff Avenue, next to Bay #111 (Cows Ice Cream) Banff, AB Canada T1L 1C3 Sculptors Name: Charles A. Beil

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