Art Gallery - Heritage Collection

Enjoy a glimpse of 19th century life along the Ottawa River by viewing our collection of heritage river art. The original beauty and strength of the river is depicted by the voyageurs and Algonquin first nation paddling the mighty rapids. The advance of technology is portrayed by the huge logging rafts destined for Quebec City, the first steamboats and bridges. Early settlement began to appear and none more dramatic than the contrasting view of Parliament Hill between the 1830s and '60s.

The Ottawa River Institute commemorates this artistic legacy with a series of prints and greeting cards. Click here for information on purchasing original works or prints from this gallery.


Henry Francis Ainslie

Rideau Falls. 1839
Entrance to Rideau Canal, 1839
Bridge and toll house, Chaudieres Falls, March 1839

William Augustus Austin

Papineau's residence, Ottawa River near Montebello  1856
High Falls, Gatineau River (Quebec) July, 1856
Falls at Buckingham, River aux Lievres (Quebec)

William Henry Bartlett

Falls of the Ottawa at Les Chats. 1841
Voyageurs walking a canoe up through the rapids, 1870-73. Handcoloured lithograph

John Burrows

Union Bridge, Chaudiere Falls, Ottawa River. After 1827
Bridges Erected Across the Ottawa River at the Chaudière Falls. After 1827

James Pattison Cockburn

Chaudieres Falls, 1825. Brown wash over graphite
Falls of the Chaudiere. 1826

Frances Anne Hopkins

Priest Meditating, Ottawa River. July 18, 1866
Timber Raft, 1868
Canoe Party around Campfire. 1870. Oil on canvas
Shooting the Rapids. 1879.

Tom Thomson

Other Works

Indians Shooting Rapids in a Bark Canoe. Date unknown
Entrance of the Rideau Canal. by Henry Pooley, 1833
View of Horace-ville on the Ottawa River. 1850
Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, by James Duncan 1866