Mattie Gunterman

Mattie Gunterman, born Ida Madeline Warner (Spring 1872 – 1945), was a Canadian photographer and mining camp cook in British Columbia.

Gunterman started taking photos in the spring of 1897, mainly documenting her family and from that point forward her interest and skill in photography continued to grow. From the years 1899 to 1911, she served as a cook at a mining camp while also creating autobiographical photographs. She received some formal training about the basics of photography while growing up in La Crosse from her photographer uncle. Gunterman often included herself in her photographs creating a personal narrative of pioneer life in Canada and representing herself as a self-sufficient and confident leader.

She contributed a notable historical record of the early 1900s mining boom in Lardeau, a former mining region located in the Kootenays region of British Columbia. In 1927, the Gunterman's home in Beaton was destroyed by a fire therefore much of her work was lost. The only existing work of Gunterman's are three photograph albums that currently belong to her grandson, Avery Gunterman and three hundred glass plate negatives that are part of the Vancouver Public Library collection. An exhibition of her work alongside Emily Carr's was on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery from May 5 to September 3, 2018.

Personal life

1887 to 1889 Mattie Gunterman was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and not much is known about her family or childhood. An 1880 United States census provides confirmation that she lived with her grandmother and that her mother was born in Pennsylvania and her father was born in Michigan. She continuously battled health problems throughout her life. She learned photography from an uncle who had a studio in La Crosse. In 1889 she left La Crosse and moved west to Seattle, Washington.

1889 to 1898 She married William Gunterman, a candy maker in 1891 and the two had one son together, Henry, in 1892. Typically during the winter months Gunterman would develop her glass plate negatives and turn them into prints. Her works at the start mainly consisted of posed group photos. She then purchased a No.5 Cartridge Kodak 4 x 5 plate camera in 1898 as it allowed for more versatility when playing with exposure, focusing and shutter speed. However, a number of glass plate negatives and a few albums were stored elsewhere so they survived. Gunterman died in 1945 and three of her photograph albums are currently in the possession of her grandson, Avery Gunterman. Ron D'Altroy of the Vancouver Public Library became interested in Gunterman's work in 1961 and rediscovered three hundred of her glass plate negatives in Henry Gunterman's attic. After collecting these photographs and gaining permission to keep them, the Vancouver Public Library Board digitized her photographs. Her photographs help to reveal life in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. Gunterman's work continues to gain more attention as it has become more accessible to the public through its digitization. From April 28 to September 3, 2018 her work was displayed alongside Emily Carr's at the Vancouver Art Gallery in an exhibition entitled "Emily Carr in Dialogue with Mattie Gunterman."