Skating Carnival in Montreal by William Notman. 1870. Colored albumen print. [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsI’ve seen this image before, in a book about ice skating history. This work by Scottish-Canadian photographer William Notman (1826-1891) depicts an elaborate gala at Montreal’s Victoria Rink in 1870. The event was to honor Prince Albert of the UK. It looks like a painting or print, but it’s actually a colored albumen photographic print. I can’t get over how many people there are on the ice and how elaborate their costumes are. The rink looks so beautiful with all the garlands and flags, too. I’ve read about these big skating parties and carnivals that they used to have in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, and I so wish I could have seen and participated in one. I wonder how we can bring this back. Any ideas?
Alexandra Kiely, aka A Scholarly Skater, is an art historian based in the northeastern United States. She loves wandering down the dark and dusty corners of art history and wholeheartedly believes in visual art's ability to enrich every person's life.
Her favorite periods of art history are 19th-century American painting and medieval European art and architecture. When she not looking at, reading about, writing about, or teaching art, she's probably ice dancing or reading.
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A Scholarly Skater 