Jim King’s Wharf by Walter J. Phillips
1927 | colour woodcut
27 x 20 cm
In the unpublished manuscript, Wet Paint, (p. 100), Phillips provides the following description.
Some of the coastal steamers tie up at the end of this crazy wharf, and discharge consignments of groceries and other articles ocommerce, for the genial Chinese merchant Jim King, whose store stands at the shore end of it. The tide races along Johnstone Strait between the shore and Vancouver Island, whose snow-capped peaks may be seen in the distance. An Indian dug-out canoe is passing — admire its graceful lines. Gasoline driven fishing boats — trollers and seiners, tramp steamers, and launches pass as frequently, and the big liners that ply between the great southern ports of Alaska, at regular intervals. It has become a busy sea-way. The composition goes not present any feature of outstanding interest. The canoe was introduced for balance, and to help lead the eye to the end of the wharf, which is the focal point. The distant island is connected wthe wharf on the picture plane by intrsuive lines and parts, and the vertical direction of the piles merges gradually into the horizontal by virtue of their spreading reflections.