From the Archives: The Cliff Fenner Story

The curatorial team has been hard at work digitizing the photographic and archival collection with the goal of making these materials publicly accessible for research and general interest. We’ve come across many fascinating materials and photographs so far, such as last week’s find of the drawing by Disney animator Ward Kimball. One other collection that was recently brought out of storage to be digitized was the Clifford Fenner collection which was donated to the museum in the mid 2000s. This donation contains over 5000 individual negatives, transparencies, photographs, magazines, and ephemera from the lifework of photographer Cliff Fenner.

The subject matter of the photographs covers local logging camps, BC logging camps, mines, dams, bridges, flowers, scenic shots for postcards and travel magazines, highway construction, and more. Some of the photos from logging sites include familiar names from the Island, such as Malloch & Moseley, Mayo Lumber, Mt. Sicker Lumber, and MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. Throughout March we have been busy organizing the collection, deciding what should be added to the online archival database, and what images might be better suited to other collections. For example, the Whistler Museum already has an extensive collection of Fenner’s work and may be acquiring some of the scenic shots of the Sea to Sky region that were found in our donation.

Fenner, while a skilled photographer, began his working life in the logging industry in England where he was born in 1909. He continued working in logging after he moved to Vancouver in 1947. Shortly after, he experienced a career change when he became the Park Supervisor for Garibaldi Provincial Park in 1953. He spent his working days hiking and admiring the wildlife and rich natural surroundings. Cliff was not only an avid hiker but enjoyed climbing and mountaineering as well. His photography, however, saw him travelling across B.C. and internationally, to countries such as Columbia. He passed away in 2002 in Vancouver leaving behind him a legacy of photography, mountaineering, exploring, and logging. We hope to help preserve his legacy by accessioning and digitizing his work into the collection, making it accessible for people to view and learn from.