Halifax and Its People / 1749-1999

Robert Wilkie (1827-1904) was born in Halifax and began his painting career here in the1840s. He emigrated to the United States in 1853 and lived in the Boston area for the rest of his life, a successful painter, illustrator and teacher. The Red Mill was a water-driven gristmill, adjoining an eighteenth-century windmill built by James Munn and remembered today by Windmill Road in north Dartmouth. The vantage point on a height of land provided a spectacular view across to Halifax, Georges Island and ships in the harbour. At the time this work was executed, the gristmill was still in operation. The ruins remained until 1901, when cleared by the Oland family for a tennis court on their property.

Artist: Robert D. Wilkie; P. Mayor, engraver

Date: ca. 1853

Medium: engraving

Reference: Nova Scotia Archives  Gleason's Illustrated Magazine, 10 September 1853