Drawing Home (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Drawing Home is set across two primary locations: Concord, Massachusetts, an affluent town with deep historical roots, and Banff, Alberta, Canada, nestled within Banff National Park. The contrast between these settings reflects the central tension of the story, with one rooted in old American wealth and the other in the raw natural beauty of the Canadian Rockies. The move from Concord to Banff mirrors the protagonist's shift from obligation to freedom.

• Concord Massachusetts
• Banff
• Banff National Park
• Canadian Rockies
• setting

Drawing Home is set primarily during the 1920s, a decade known as the Roaring Twenties that was marked by economic prosperity and cultural dynamism. The film uses this period to frame a story about breaking conventions, pursuing art, and redefining what it means to belong. The era's spirit of exploration directly mirrors Catharine and Peter's willingness to defy social expectations.

• 1920s
• Roaring Twenties
• era
• time period
• historical setting

Drawing Home explores three central themes: love and sacrifice, artistic expression, and tragedy and resilience. Together, these themes trace how two people build a life around shared creativity and devotion, only to face profound loss and hardship. The film asks whether genuine love can truly become a home, or whether it remains a fragile refuge against life's unpredictability.

• love
• sacrifice
• artistic expression
• tragedy
• resilience
• themes

Peter Whyte is a charismatic Canadian painter whose arrival disrupts Catharine's carefully planned future. Passionate about capturing the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies, Peter becomes both her artistic partner and the love of her life. His later struggles with depression and alcoholism add depth to a character defined equally by talent and vulnerability.

• Peter Whyte
• Canadian painter
• artist
• Banff
• artist

Catharine Robb is the central figure of Drawing Home, a strong-willed woman from a wealthy Boston family who defies convention for love. Her journey from an affluent engagement in Concord to a life of artistic simplicity in Banff defines the film's emotional arc. She serves as both muse and caretaker, sustaining her husband's creative life while navigating personal loss.

• Catharine Robb
• Boston
• Concord
• Banff
• main character

Drawing Home frames love as a force that demands sacrifice rather than guarantees comfort. Catharine's choice to leave behind her privileged Boston life for an uncertain future with Peter exemplifies the personal cost of choosing devotion over social expectation. Their decades together reveal that love requires continual giving, especially when hardship arrives.

• love
• sacrifice
• devotion
• Catharine
• Peter
• relationship

Banff serves as more than just a backdrop in Drawing Home; it becomes a canvas for Catharine and Peter's artistic and personal life. The majestic mountains and pristine lakes of Banff National Park inspire their painting and photography while anchoring the couple in a community of artists and outdoor enthusiasts. The town represents a deliberate departure from the constraints of Boston high society.

• Banff
• Canadian wilderness
• art community
• mountains
• national park

Art in Drawing Home is both a calling and a lifeline. Catharine and Peter's shared passion for painting and photography becomes the foundation of their bond and the engine of their life in Banff. The film suggests that creativity rooted in nature and community can offer escape, meaning, and connection even when personal struggles threaten to pull them apart.

• painting
• photography
• creativity
• nature
• artistic expression

The 1920s backdrop of economic prosperity and shifting cultural norms gives Catharine and Peter's unconventional relationship its weight. Catharine's decision to abandon her elite Concord upbringing for a life of simplicity in the Canadian wilderness would have been radical for a woman of her status in that era. The decade's openness to artistic and personal reinvention makes their leap possible.

• 1920s
• conventions
• Boston high society
• women's expectations
• Roaring Twenties

Carl Rungius is a prominent wildlife painter and a respected figure within Catharine and Peter's artistic circle in Western Canada. His success and dedication to depicting mountain wildlife reflect the artistic legacy that the couple inherits and contributes to. He represents the influence of mentorship, nature, and creative community in shaping their shared life.

• Carl Rungius
• wildlife painter
• artistic circle
• mentor
• Western Canada

Edith Morse Robb is Catharine's mother and a symbol of the traditional expectations placed on women of her social class. Her disapproval of Catharine's choices embodies the conflict between family obligation and personal desire. As a character, she anchors the film in the world of Boston high society that Catharine ultimately chooses to leave behind.

• Edith Morse Robb
• mother
• Boston
• social expectations
• Catharine