Halifax in Watercolour: The Paintings of Alexander Cavalié Mercer, 1838–1842
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by Glenn Devanney
Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, 2014
96 pp., illus., $19.95 hardcover
There are only a handful of cities in Canada with a history as rich and deep as that of Halifax. As a key deepwater port for the British Empire, the city was at the heart of many major movements and conflicts.
In Halifax in Watercolour, Glenn Devanney takes readers on a visual journey back to early-to-mid-1800s Halifax as seen through the eyes — and the paintbrush — of watercolourist Alexander Cavalié Mercer. A British artillery officer who fought against Napoleon at Waterloo, Mercer visited Halifax for only a short time, but his output was extremely productive — more than eighty paintings of landscapes, street scenes, and coastal views.
As someone raised in Nova Scotia, and who attended university in Halifax, I found this book a revelation. It depicts a historic Halifax that once was, and of which traces can still be seen today.
— Mark Collin Reid (Read bio)
Mark Collin Reid is the Editor-in-Chief of Canada's History.