It's possibly the most substantial and most substantive collection of photographs that has ever been amassed in St. Albert. Now, the Musée Héritage Museum has its hands on it and the public is already starting to see why it's so important.
It has been 11 years since Victor Post succumbed to his battle with Crohn's disease, but his legacy lives on. In 2003, there were two very fine retrospectives of his work at the Musée and the Profiles Public Art Gallery, now known as the Art Gallery of St. Albert. The city hasn't seen anything since then.
That all changed last week. The museum announced on Thursday that the Post family had donated the entire collection of his papers and a substantial volume of his photographs, and his camera collection as well.
The collection is not only a major boon to the museum's archives as one of the largest donations that the institution has ever received. It also acts as a fine and lasting tribute to the person who did so much to represent his community so well during his many interactions with famous and important world figures alike.
"It's a great collection for the museum to acquire," director of heritage Ann Ramsden stated, calling Post a prominent photographer not only in this city but in the province as well.
She added that this is an important step in terms of preserving these materials for the future, but that it will also give the public the opportunity to view and even purchase reproductions of his works. The archives belong to the people of St. Albert after all, she stated.
"His collection is held by the museum and archives, but it becomes public domain … so everybody can enjoy the collection. We're very pleased that it's come home."
This is great news for the many people in the community who still have warm memories of the man and high regard for the quality of his work.
The man behind the camera
Born in Ontario in 1953, Post was known not only for his photography but also for his inquisitive nature and inventive personality.
"He was certainly a very interesting and a very brilliant man," Ramsden noted.
He was only seven when he first made the local news, when a fire truck was dispatched to the Post home. One of his early science experiments had gone awry and the smoke made many neighbours think that the house was on fire.
He loved holography and lasers and studying these brought him his first time in the international spotlight. During his late teen years, he grew fond of science fairs, once winning the national fair. That win allowed him a chance to take his helium-neon lasers to the World Youth International Science Fortnight in London, England. There, he met Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dennis Gabor and the two began a friendship through correspondence.
Post's love for cameras and photography developed alongside his other technological interests. He was 12 when he first studied portrait photography and black and white print production. As a Paul Kane High School student in 1968, he became a freelance photojournalist for the St. Albert Gazette.
By the time he was 20, he had already established Victor Post Photography, spending the first 14 years of this operation working out of his parents' basement. It was during this time that he began to work as the official photographer for the Government of Alberta. He later joined the Royal Photographic Society of England, also serving on the boards of the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.
He continued his experiments throughout his life. He toyed with and learned new photographic techniques, became a pilot, studied classical guitar and scuba diving and served as an auxiliary constable of the RCMP. He was also noted for his love of ham radio. He once presented King Hussein of Jordan with a Canadian amateur radio license during a reception that he hosted for the king.
The treasure trove
The collection – known as the Victor Post fonds – ranges from very general background materials to more specific, attention getting photographs. There are school yearbooks, science fair registrations and ephemera, newspaper clippings, science fair proposals, certificates, plus books and magazines related to Post's vast array of science experiments.
Most of the public will likely be interested in the vast collection of photographs, the volume of which still is yet to be determined. Rene Georgopalis, the museum's archivist, is still only in the early stages of the lengthy acquisition process. It will be lengthy, she explained, mostly because of the number of photographs for which she can only offer a rough estimate.
"We have thousands and thousands of photos. I don't know how many exactly," she said, elaborating that there are approximately 1,000 aerial photos of St. Albert alone.
She added up about 20 banker's boxes and eight or 10 larger boxes for the large format photos.
"He's got a legacy," Ramsden added. "It's a legacy to the community to have this collection in the city that he loved."
Contained within those boxes are his pictures from the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1985 Universiade Games, and the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, plus the royal visits of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother, King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan, and Pope John Paul II. Wayne Gretzky is in the mix too, along with countless other people of one form of celebrity or another.
Georgopalis elaborated that this is a momentous occasion that emphasizes the importance of archives for how they preserve history so that future generations can study and learn from it.
"These sorts of donations should be what we do in order to better document the history of St. Albert," she said.
The exhibits now and in the near future
A small sample of four large photographs was first put on display at the museum just in time for last week's ArtWalk. As the rest of the collection gets processed, a new set of images will be hung for the next few ArtWalks.
Curator Joanne White noted that many people took in the ArtWalk, the first time that the museum has participated in the multi-stop cultural tour that occurs on the evening of the first Thursdays of the summer months. For some, it was the first time that they had heard Post's name or seen his work.
"There are definitely people within the community who went, 'Oh, Victor Post! I used to know him.' They were delighted to hear that we got the collection," she recalled, mentioning that anticipation has already started to build for future displays of his work.
Next month, the focus will be on photographs that Post took of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1978 during the Edmonton Commonwealth Games. White mentioned that this would be the institution's way of celebrating the Queen's diamond jubilee.
A full exhibition of many of his works will be on display at the Musée Héritage Museum from Aug. 28 to Oct. 21.
