Opening of Parliament in the 19th Century
William Harvey Sadd’s painting Opening of Parliament in the 19th Century is small, at 49 by 60 centimetres, yet it says so much.
Sadd, from Toronto, completed the painting in 1901, and filled it with action and excitement. Thick snow covers Parliament Hill, and the original Parliament Building is seen through gauze-like flurries. That it’s a welcoming public place is seen in the people who gather on the lawn, and the young boy who darts up the lane. The vice-regal sleigh leads a procession of three sleighs, pulled by horses that snort and bustle as they briskly run into the cold night.