Legacy in Time: Three Generations of Mountain Photography in the Canadian West

Among the early North American explorers in the Rogers Pass, Yoho and Banff regions of western Canada were members of the Vaux family of Philadelphia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, George Vaux Jr. (18631927), William S. Vaux (18721908) and Mary M. Vaux (18801940) regularly visited the majestic peaks, studying the massive glacier formations and creating a brilliant photographic record that features some of the earliest images of glaciers in the mountains of western Canada.

Beginning in 1997, Henry Vaux Jr. has been taking duplicate photographs of the glaciers his grandfather and great aunt and uncle captured on glass plates a century before. Standing in exactly the same locations with his own tripod and camera, Henry Vaux Jr. has documented a century of change and created an extraordinary artistic and historical document that will inspire many and tell a story that was three generations in the making.

This project serves as a remarkable collection of before and after photographs of glacier formations in the Canadian Alps, dramatically capturing the impact of climate change on this profoundly important and iconic landscape.

Dr. Henry Vaux Jr. is emeritus professor of resource economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Riverside. Prior to his retirement in 2004, he served for 11 years as associate vice-president for agriculture and natural resources for the University of California system. He had previously served as director of the UC Center for Water Resources. Dr. Vaux has authored over 90 publications on the economics of water resources and water policy. He was a member of the Water Science & Technology Board of the National Research Council for seven years and served as chair of the board for four years. He is also emeritus president of the California-based Water Education Foundation. Dr. Vaux is a national associate of the US National Academy of Sciences and is the recipient of the 2005 Warren A. Hall Medal, given by the Universities Council on Water Resources for significant accomplishments in water resources research. He currently serves as chair of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy. He lives in El Cerrito, California.