Experience Jasper: As It Was, an exhibition of Jasper from 1939 through to the 1970s, from the lens of renowned Canadian photojournalist Harry Rowed. The grand opening slide show of this posthumous exhibition, presented by Harry’s son, Scott Rowed, who was born and raised in Jasper, will be on January 24th, in Jasper, Alberta, at Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives. This is a beautiful occasion to see an incredibly memorable exhibit.
Jasper: As It Was
Date and Time: January 24th, 2025 – 6:00 PM.
Location: Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives – 400 Bonhomme St Jasper, AB Canada T0E 1E0
Admission: By donation.
This event is family-friendly.
About Harry Rowed:
From his early days working for a small Saskatchewan newspaper, Harry became a well-recognized photojournalist and was selected to cover the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, capturing haunting images of the rise of the Nazis.
Returning to Canada, he became the chief photographer for the Winnipeg Tribune, then for the Canadian National Railway, promoting the Jasper Park Lodge and tourism in the Rockies. During WW II, he became the Director of Photo Services for the National Film Board.
His projects with the NFB covered diverse subjects, such as the Quebec Conference in 1944 (with Churchill, Roosevelt and Mackenzie King), the formation of the UN, fishing in the north, coal mining in the Crowsnest, and wild rice harvesting in Manitoba. During the war, his assignments took him to the Rockies, both summer and winter, covering Lovat Scout and Canadian mountain troop training.
Shortly after the war, he moved to Jasper with his wife, Geneviève, and daughter, Daphne.
When not on assignments in distant countries, he ski toured and climbed in the Canadian Rockies, becoming an active member of the Alpine Club of Canada and attending numerous mountaineering and ski camps starting in 1939. Geneviève, a biologist, was active with the Jasper Yellowhead Museum in its early days.
His work, whether commercial or editorial, showed his roots in photojournalism, focusing on the people, their stories and the land where they worked and lived.
Harry died in 1987 in Kelowna, British Columbia, at the age of 79. His son, Scott, and granddaughter, Genny Mae Rowed, are working to preserve, digitize and share Harry’s exceptional photography.