The Newsroom
To See What He Saw awarded Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize
We are delighted to share that Stanley Munn and Patricia Cucman have won the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia, administered by the UBC Library and the Pacific BookWorld News Society, for their book To See What He Saw: J.E.H. MacDonald and the O’Hara Years, 1924—1932.
“The impressive scholarship, beautiful design and splendid photography on display in this book are a testament to the authors’ intensely lived research,” Dr. Susan E. Parker, UBC’s University Librarian, said in a news release.
“We are honoured to award Stanley Munn and Patricia Cucman with the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize,” she said.
The book draws on 20 years of meticulous, original research in archives and in the field, examining the works produced by English-Canadian artist and Group of Seven member James Edward Hervey (J.E.H.) MacDonald, R.C A. (1873–1932) during the last nine years of his life. By documenting MacDonald’s trips to Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Munn and Cucman create a detailed catalogue of more than 200 plein air sketches and studio works by MacDonald, which they organize geographically and pair with present day photographs shot from the same rocky viewpoints where the artist sat and sketched. The book was produced in conjunction with a 2024 exhibition at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alberta.
Stanley Munn, a retired exploration geologist, fell in love with photography at an early age. Patricia Cucman is a retired petroleum geologist. After retirement, they spent twenty years re-exploring Lake O’Hara together.
“As exploration geologists, it seemed natural to go in search of MacDonald’s exact painting sites. We hiked O’Hara high and low, sat where he had sat, and saw and photographed what he had seen. We read his letters and poetry and scoured his diaries to unravel the riddles he had left behind. Over time, we grew to admire his spirit, his humour, and his artistry and we came to understand that, nearly 100 years prior, MacDonald’s passion for this landscape was as ardent as our own,” says Cucman.
“It is said that there resides inside each person the perfect landscape in which they are at their best. For the three of us, our perfect landscape is the Canadian Rockies—Lake O’Hara, in particular. We attempt to share this love story in To See What He Saw.”
About the Prize
The Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Book on British Columbia, sponsored by UBC Library and the Pacific BookWorld News Society, recognizes the best scholarly book published by a Canadian author on a B.C. subject. The book prize was established in memory of Basil Stuart-Stubbs, a bibliophile, scholar and librarian who passed away in 2012. Stuart-Stubbs’s many accomplishments included serving as the University Librarian at UBC Library and as the Director of UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies.
The prize will be awarded at a reception to be held in April.
Learn more about the book and order your copy here today!