Canadian art

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For the magazine, see Canadian Art (magazine).

Canadian art refers to the visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of years of habitation by First Nations Peoples followed by waves of immigration which included artists of European origins and subsequently by artists with heritage from countries all around the world. The nature of Canadian art reflects these diverse origins, as artists have taken their traditions and adapted these influences to reflect the reality of their lives in Canada.

The Government of Canada has at times played a central role in the development of Canadian culture. The arts have flourished in Canada since the 20th century, and especially since the end of World War II in 1945. Government support has played a vital role in their development enabling visual exposure through publications and periodicals featuring Canadian art, as has the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country. The Group of Seven is often considered the first uniquely Canadian artistic group and style of painting. However, this claim is challenged by some scholars and artists. Historically the Catholic Church was the primary patron of art in early Canada, especially Quebec, and in later times artists have combined British, French and American artistic traditions, at times embracing European styles and at other times working to promote nationalism by developing distinctly Canadian styles. Canadian art remains the combination of these various influences.

Aboriginal art[edit]

Haida totem pole, Thunderbird Park, British Columbia

Aboriginal peoples were producing art in the territory that is now called Canada for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settler colonists and the eventual establishment of Canada as a nation state. Like the peoples that produced them, indigenous art traditions spanned territories that extended across the current national boundaries between Canada and the United States. Indigenous art traditions are often organized by art historians according to cultural, linguistic or regional groups, the most common regional distinctions being: Northwest Coast, Northwest Plateau, Plains, Eastern Woodlands, Subarctic, and Arctic. As might be expected, art traditions vary enormously amongst and within these diverse groups. One thing that distinguishes Indigenous art from European traditions is a focus on art that tends to be portable and made for the body rather than for architecture, although even this is only a general tendency and not an absolute rule. Indigenous visual art is also often made to be used in conjunction with other arts, for example masks and rattles play an important role in ceremonialism that also involves dance, storytelling and music.

Many of the artworks preserved in museum collections date from the period after European contact and show evidence of the creative adoption and adaptation of European trade goods such as metal and glass beads. The distinct Métis cultures that have arisen from inter cultural relationships with Europeans have also contributed new culturally hybrid art forms. During the 19th and the first half of the 20th century the Canadian government pursued an active policy of assimilation toward indigenous peoples and one of the instruments of this policy was the Indian Act, which banned manifestations of traditional religion and governance, such as the Sun Dance and the Potlatch, including the works of art associated with them. It was not until the 1950s and 60s that indigenous artists such as Mungo Martin, Bill Reid and Norval Morrisseau began to publicly renew and in some cases re-invent indigenous art traditions. Currently there are many indigenous artists practicing in all media in Canada and two indigenous artists, such as Edward Poitras and Rebecca Belmore, who have represented Canada at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1995 and 2005, respectively.

French colonial period (1665–1759)[edit]

Map of New France made by Samuel de Champlain in 1612.

Early explorers such as Samuel de Champlain made sketches of North American territory as they explored, but the Roman Catholic Church in and around Quebec City was the first to provide artistic patronage.[1] Abbé Hughes Pommier is believed to be the first painter in New France. Pommier left France in 1664 and worked in various communities as a priest before taking up painting extensively. Painters in New France, such as Pommier and Claude Francois, known primarily as Frère Luc, believed in the ideals of High Renaissance art, which featured religious depictions often formally composed with seemingly classical clothing and settings.[2] Few artists during this early period signed their works, making attributions today difficult.

Near the end of the 17th century, the population of New France was growing steadily but the territory was increasingly isolated from France. Fewer artists arrived from Europe, but artists in New France continued with commissions from the Church. Two schools were established in New France to teach the arts and there were a number of artists working throughout New France until the British Conquest.[3] Pierre Le Ber, from a wealthy Montreal family, is one of the most recognized artists from this period. Believed to be self-taught since he never left New France, Le Ber's painting is widely admired. In particular, his depiction of the saint Marguerite Bourgeoys was hailed as "the single most moving image to survive from the French period" by Canadian art historian Dennis Reid.[4]

While the early religious painting told little about everyday life, numerous ex-votos completed by amateur artists offer vivid impressions of life in New France. Ex-votos, or votive painting, were made as a way to thank God or the saints for answering a prayer. One of the best known examples of this type of work is Ex-voto des trois naufragés de Lévis (1754). Five youths were crossing the Saint Lawrence River at night when their boat overturned in rough water. Two girls drowned, weighed down by their heavy dresses, while two young men and one woman were able to hold on to the overturned boat until help arrived. Saint Anne is depicted in the sky, saving them. This work was donated to the church at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré as an offering of thanks for the three lives saved.[5]

Early art in British North America[edit]

The early ports of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland did not experience the same degree of artistic growth, largely due to their Protestant beliefs in simple church decoration which did not encourage artists or sculptors. However, itinerant artists, painters who travelled to various communities to sell works, frequented the area. Dutch-born artist Gerard Edema is believed to have painted the first Newfoundland landscape in the early 18th century.[6]

English colonial period (1759–1867)[edit]

A View of Montreal in Canada, Taken from Isle St. Helena in 1762
by Thomas Davies

British Army topographers[edit]

The battle for Quebec left numerous British soldiers garrisoned in strategic locations in the territory. While off-duty, many of these soldiers sketched and painted the Canadian land and people, which were often sold in European markets hungry for exotic, picturesque views of the colonies. Furthermore, drawing was also required by soldiers to record the land, as photography had not been invented.[7] Thomas Davies is championed as one of the most talented. Davies recorded the capture of Louisburg and Montreal among other scenes.[8] Scottish-born George Heriot was one of the first artist-soldiers to settle in Canada and later produced Travels Through the Canadas in 1807 filled with his aquatint prints.[9] Forshaw Day worked as a draftsman at Her Majesty's Naval Yard from 1862–79 in Halifax, Nova Scotia then moved to Kingston, Ontario to teach drawing at the Royal Military College of Canada from 1879–97.

Lower Canada's Golden Age[edit]

In the late 18th century, art in Lower Canada began to prosper due a larger number of commissions from the public and Church construction which allowed a greater number of professional artists working and . Portrait painting in particular is recognized from this period as it allowed a higher degree of innovation and change. François Baillairgé was one of the first of this generation of artists. He returned to Montreal after in 1781 studying sculpture in London and Paris. The Rococo style influenced several Lower Canadian artists who aimed for the style's light and carefree painting. However, Baillairgé did not embrace Rococo, instead focusing on sculpture and teaching influenced from Neoclassicism.[10]

Lower Canada's artists evolved independently from France as the connection was broken off during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. While not living in Lower Canada, William Berczy participated in the period's artistic growth. He immigrated to Canada from Saxony and completed several important portraits of leading figures. For example, he painted three portraits of Joseph Brant and his best known work is The Woolsley Family, painted in Quebec City in 1808–09. As the title suggests the work features full-length portraits of all the members of the Woolsley family. It is celebrated in part because of its complex arrangement of figures, decorative floor panels, and the detailed view of the landscape through the open window.[11] Art historian J. Russell Harper believes this era of Canadian art was the first to develop a truly Canadian character.[12]

A second generation of artists continued this flourishing of artistic growth beginning around the 1820s. Joseph Légaré was trained as a decorative and copy painter. However, this did not inhibit his artistic creativity as he was one of the first Canadian artists to depict the local landscape. Légaré is best known for his depictions of disasters such as cholera plagues, rocks slides, and fires.[13] A student of Légaré, Antoine Plamondon went on to study in France, the first French Canadian artist to do so in 48 years. Plamondon went on to become the most successful artist in this period largely through religious and portrait commissions.[14]

Krieghoff and Kane[edit]

The works of most early Canadian painters followed European trends. During the mid 19th century, Cornelius Krieghoff, a Dutch born artist in Quebec, painted scenes of the life of the habitants (French-Canadian farmers). At about the same time, the Canadian artist Paul Kane painted pictures of Indigenous life around the Great Lakes and in Western Canada and the Oregon Territories.

Art under the Dominion of Canada[edit]

Formed in 1870 by a group of artists including John Bell-Smith, father of Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith and Adolphe Vogt, the Canadian Society of Artists was the first organization that reflected the new political boundaries and arguably a national identity. The group consisted of artists with diverse background, with many new Canadians and others of French heritage spread out over Ontario and Quebec. Without group philosophical or artistic objectives, most artists tended simply to please the public in order to produce income. Romanticism remained the predominant stylistic influence, with a growing appreciation for Realism originating from the Barbizon school practiced by Canadians Homer Watson and Horatio Walker.[15]

Early 20th century[edit]

Nationalism and the Group of Seven[edit]

Red Maple by A.Y. Jackson from 1914

A group of landscape painters called the Group of Seven aimed to develop the first distinctly Canadian style of painting. All these artists painted large, brilliantly coloured scenes of the Canadian wilderness. The original members of the group were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley. Tom Thomson (who died in 1917) and Emily Carr were also closely associated with the Group of Seven, though neither were ever official members. In the 1930s, members of the Group of Seven decided to enlarge the club and formed the Canadian Group of Painters, made up of 28 artists from across the country.

Beginning of non-objective art[edit]

In the 1920s, Kathleen Munn and Bertram Brooker independently experimented with abstract or non-objective art in Canada. Both artists viewed abstract art as a way to explore symbolism and mysticism as an integrated part of their personal spirituality. As the Group of Seven was enlarged into the Canadian group of Painters in the 1930s, Lawren Harris left the group's focus on depicting the Canadian landscape and experimented with abstract forms and aimed to represent broad conceptual themes. These individual artists indirectly influenced the following generation of artists who would come to form groups of abstract art following World War II, by changing the definition of art in Canadian society and by encouraging young artists to explore abstract themes.[16]

Contemporaries of the Group of Seven[edit]

Founded in 1938 in Montréal, Québec, the Eastern Group of Painters included Montréal artists whose common interest was painting and an art for art's sake aesthetic, not the espousal of a nationalist theory as was the case with the Group of Seven or the Canadian Group of Painters. The group’s members included Alexander Bercovitch, Goodridge Roberts, Eric Goldberg, Jack Weldon Humphrey, John Goodwin Lyman, and Jori Smith.

By the late 1930s, many Canadian artists began resenting the quasi-national institution the Group of Seven had become. As a result of a growing rejection of the view that the efforts of a group of artists based largely in Ontario constituted a national vision or oeuvre, many artists—notably those in Québec—began feeling ignored and undermined. The Eastern Group of Painters formed to counter this notion and restore variation of purpose, method, and geography to Canadian art.

1930s regionalism[edit]

Since the 1930s, Canadian painters have developed a wide range of highly individual styles. Emily Carr became famous for her paintings of totem poles, native villages, and the forests of British Columbia. Other noted painters have included the landscape artist David Milne and the prairie painter William Kurelek.

After World War II[edit]

Government support has played a vital role in arts development, as has the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country.

The abstract painters Jean-Paul Riopelle and Harold Town and multi-media artist Michael Snow. The abstract art group Painters Eleven, particularly the artists William Ronald and Jack Bush, also had an important impact on modern art in Canada.

Canadian sculpture has been enriched by the walrus ivory and soapstone carvings by the Inuit artists. These carvings show objects and activities from their daily lives, both modern and traditional, as well as scenes from their mythology.

Contemporary art[edit]

Interior of the Toronto Eaton Centre showing one of Michael Snow's best known sculptures, titled Flightstop, which depicts Canada Geese in flight.

Visual art made in Canada by living Canadian artists refers to a range of visual, media, performance, and other practices that are critically acclaimed. There has been much debate over whether a national style, philosophical outlook, or unified and cohesive culture exists or ever has existed within Canada.[17] It is large geographically, with many distinct regions, and its population is diverse and is made up of varying national and ethnic backgrounds. Also, as traditional distinctions between "high art" and "low" and "popular" art seem to be becoming less clear, the task of locating one or even a few common characteristics of Canadian art or culture becomes difficult.

There are, however, a few notable moments when Canadian contemporary artists—as individuals or groups—have distinguished themselves through commonality, international recognition, collaboration, or zeitgeist:

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Harper, 3.
  2. ^ Harper, 4-5.
  3. ^ Harper, 19–20.
  4. ^ Reid, 11.
  5. ^ Harper, 14-15.
  6. ^ Harper, 27–28.
  7. ^ Reid, 18-19.
  8. ^ Reid, 19.
  9. ^ Reid, 21.
  10. ^ Harper, 56-62.
  11. ^ Reid, 31.
  12. ^ Harper, 67.
  13. ^ Reid, 44.
  14. ^ Reid, 47.
  15. ^ Harper, 179–81.
  16. ^ Nasgaard, 14.
  17. ^ The essay collection Sightlines: Reading Contemporary Canadian Art (edited by Jessica Bradley and Lesley Johnstone, Montreal: Artexte Information Centre, 1994) contains a number of critical texts addressing the issues around the difficulty of establishing or even defining a Canadian identity.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]