PROVENANCE
Richardson Bros Gallery, Winnipeg
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Duncan Campbell Scott, Walter J. Phillips, 1947, reproduced page 23
Michael J. Gribbon, Walter J. Phillips, 1978, reproduced page 61, figure 37, the graphite drawing and the on-the-spot watercolour and graphite sketch for the print reproduced page 59 and the detailed watercolour and graphite sketch for the work reproduced page 60
Roger Boulet, The Tranquility and the Turbulence, 1981, reproduced page 107 and the 1926 drawing and 1927 watercolour related to this work reproduced page 106
Roger Boulet, Walter J. Phillips: The Complete Graphic Works, 1981, reproduced page 285
Jay Stewart, Peter Macnair et al, Emily Carr: New Perspectives on a Canadian Icon, National Gallery of Canada, 2006, reproduced page 112

Roger Boulet notes, "On his first trip to Alert Bay, Phillips happened on "Jim King's Wharf." Using this print in his unpublished manuscript Wet Paint, he described it in the following terms: "Some of the coastal steamers tie up at the end of this crazy wharf, and discharge consignments of groceries and other articles of commerce, for the general Chinese merchant Jim King, whose store stands at the shore end of it. The tide races along Johnstone Strait between the shore and Vancouver Island, whose snow-capped peaks may be seen in the distance. An Indian dug-out canoe is passing - admire its graceful lines. Gasoline driven fishing boats - trollers and seiners, tramp steamers, and launches pass as frequently, and the big liners that ply between the great southern ports and Alaska, at regular intervals. It has become a busy sea-way. The composition does not present any feature of outstanding interest. The canoe was introduced for balance, and to help lead the eye to the end of the wharf, which is the focal point. The distant island is connected with the wharf on the picture plane by intrusive lines and parts, and the vertical direction of the piles merges gradually into the horizontal by virtue of their spreading reflections." The trip to the Coast enabled Phillips to sketch Siwash and Kwakiutl villages and provided him with material for years to come."

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