Fonds PR2470 - Thomas Gushul fonds

Thomas Gushul was born in Rozniw, western Ukraine in 1889 and immigrated to Canada in 1906. Between 1907 and 1909, he worked for both the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Between 1909 and 1914, he worked in various coalmines in Blairmore. During the winters of 1909-1910 he taught Ukrainian to children in Schevchenko (Vita), Manitoba. In 1914, he married Lena Sawiek (1898-1981), and they had four children: Nadia (Rose) (1915-1959), Evan (1916-2014), Poraska (Nelson) (1921-1998) and Polly (Snowdon) (1923-2012).

In 1914, Thomas developed an interest in photography, and in 1917, he traveled to Winnipeg to study photography. In 1918, Lena, also a portrait and commercial photographer, joined Thomas in opening a photography studio in Bush Town, Alberta. In 1921, they opened a second studio in Blairmore, Alberta. In 1928, Lena and Thomas closed their store in Bush Town. Thomas received many awards for his photography work. In particular, he is remembered for his work in developing the practice of mine photography. Thomas later set up a photo-engraving plant that his son, Evan, operated for many years.

After Thomas' death, Lena continued to run the studio. The contents of the studio were purchased by the Glenbow-Alberta Institute in 1981, with some images distributed to heritage facilities around the province. The Gushul Studio buildings were restored by the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation in 1985 and used as the location for an artist's residency by the University of Lethbridge starting in1988.