DIGITAL LIBRARY

Everyone loves a good story, and The Whyte’s Archives are full of them. From Mary Schäffer’s lantern slides and Norquay’s ski history to mountaineering books shaped by decades of research, discover how filmmakers, writers, and historians are using archival collections to bring Canadian Rockies stories back to life. Explore how photographs, letters, film, and field notes continue to inspire new ways of understanding the people, places, and adventures that shaped these mountain

The Whyte is pleased to announce the appointments of Dagny Dubois as Director of Archives and Special Collections and Anaïs Goorriah as Associate Curator of Contemporary Art.

When our eyes touch invites visitors to look again at Catharine and Peter Whyte’s portraits, relationships, and legacy. Through archival research, community engagement, and close attention to portraiture, the exhibition explores intimacy, agency, colonial context, and the humanity behind familiar stories of The Whyte’s founders.

When you support The Whyte, you are supporting the daily work of individuals and departments caring for art, preserving stories, researching histories, building exhibitions, and creating meaningful visitor experiences. Discover a few highlights of the breadth of careful work across departments and disciplines. This summer, we ask you to become part of the community of donors who support our museum work.

Preparing the winter exhibitions offered an opportunity to reframe Peter and Catharine Whyte’s work. The discovery of numerous sketches from their 1937 Assiniboine trip, alongside Catharine’s vivid letters and Peter’s annotated photographs, revealed a richer story. Arranged chronologically, the exhibition invites viewers to follow the journey from bright autumn days through the gathering storm to a landscape transformed by fresh snow.

From delicate studio portraits to sweeping mountain panoramas, the Luxton Family Collection reveals how photographs reflect the lives, values, and curiosities of those who framed them. Spanning 1860 to 1960, the images trace evolving photographic practices, personal stories, and a changing Rockies landscape, from ornate Victorian portraits to early panoramic views of Banff, offering a vivid window into a century of memory, craft, and place.