Founder of Squamish, B.C., art gallery and eagle count honoured in mural project - Action News
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British Columbia

Founder of Squamish, B.C., art gallery and eagle count honoured in mural project

A founder of the Brackendale Art Gallery andits annual eagle festival and count is being honoured with a mural in downtown Squamish, B.C.

Thor Froslev began annual count in 'world eagle capital' in 1986, contributing to creation of provincial park

A mural painted on a rectangular building. It features multiple soft pastel colours, and a bearded man with glasses and a hat on the right side.
The mural in honour of Thor Froslev is located on Cleveland Avenue in downtown Squamish, B.C. (Kevin Ledo)

A founder of the Brackendale Art Gallery andits annual eagle festival and count is being honoured with a mural in downtown Squamish, B.C.

On July 4, renowned Montreal-based muralist Kevin Ledo completed his work dedicated to Thor Froslev, who establishedthe gallery almost 50 years ago.

The mural, which is painted on a vacant building on Cleveland Avenue and will remain there for at least 10 years, is part of anannual mural walk eventorganized by the Downtown Squamish Business Improvement Association.

Event curator Alex Fowkes says Froslevwas chosen as the mural's subject because of his immense contribution to the local community.

Hosting eagle count festival at art gallery

Froslev, now 89, was an upholsterer and logger when he came to Canada from Denmark in the mid-1950s. He worked different jobs across B.C. but mostly in Vancouver as an elevator operator, landscaper, bricklayer's helper, shoe factory and sawmill worker.

Froslev moved to Squamish in the 1960s and,after conversations with local artists, he developed an idea to build a gallery showcasing B.C. artists in the Brackendale neighbourhood. The gallery opened in 1973.

"It's a fantastic placebetween Vancouver and Whistler," he said about Brackendale in the 2018 documentary Brackendale: An Art Gallery in the Woods.

An old man with a white beard poses in front of an eagle symbol.
Thor Froslev at the Brackendale Art Gallery, which opened in Squamish in 1973. (Submitted by Dorte Froslev)

In 2016, Froslev received a community award from the B.C. Achievement Foundation recognizing hiseffort to establish the galleryand the annual Brackendale Winter EagleFestival and Count, which began in 1986.

After years of counting the birds and advocacy by Froslev and local activists, the B.C. government acknowledged Squamish as a significant wintering area for bald eagles by establishing the Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park in 1999.

The gallery, which says Brackendale is the "world eagle capital," claims a world-record 3,769 bald eagles werecounted in 1994.

The accompanying festival, held annually at the gallery for most of January, includesconcerts and photo exhibitions. It was put on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the eagle count has continued.

'Perfect person' to paint

Ledo, who is well known for his murals of prominent Canadians likeDavid Suzuki, Leonard Cohen and Janine Sutto,says he took nine days to paint Froslev based on a photo.

He says while he didn'tknowFroslev beforehand, he found him a fascinating character after reading articles about him.

A painter in a wide-brimmed hat stands on a painter's platform. The beginnings of a painting, depicting a man with glasses, are visible on the wall in front of him.
Kevin Ledo says it took nine days to complete the mural. (Patricia Heintzman)

"I just knew right away that he'd be a perfect person for this type of project I always like to paint somebody that is really meaningful to the community," Ledo told host Gloria Macarenko on CBC's On The Coast.

Froslev, who had recently been in hospital for more than a month,visited the mural on his way home on July 6. He says Ledo did a good job portraying him.

"I was so amazed they were able to do that I was proud," Froslev said.

From left, Kevin Ledo, Thor Froslev and Alex Fowkes, curator of the downtown Squamish mural walk. Froslev says he's proud of Ledo's portrayal of him. (Dorte Froslev)

With files from On The Coast