By Mark Skeffington The CBC Digital Archives is a treasure trove for anyone interested in Canadian art history. Over the decades, Canada’s national broadcaster has interviewed a Who’s Who of Canadian artists and documented, in radio and TV clips, dozens of fascinating visual arts stories. CBC’s archives are extensive, covering all aspects of Canadian life over the decades. But it is the coverage of Canadian art that is of interest here. As one might expect, the Group of Seven has … [Read more...]
E-books Bring Canadian Art History to Life
June 28, 2015 by
By Mark Skeffington An ambitious project is breathing new life into Canadian art history. The project involves publishing a series of e-books on notable Canadian artists, with an emphasis on ground-breaking artists, both historical and contemporary. The Art Canada Institute has already published a dozen titles, with six more scheduled to come out between now and next spring. “The Art Canada Institute's goal is to get Canadians talking about historic art today. We believe that the … [Read more...]
Group of Seven inspires artist John Leonard
November 10, 2013 by
By Mark Skeffington With hundreds of exhibits to his credit, artist John C. Leonard doesn’t worry about self-promotion or seek out publicity. “I’ve had more than 350 shows. I don’t need the promotion,” the 69-year-old Canadian artist says, explaining his relatively low profile, especially online. Stories and bios about John Leonard are hard to find, even though he has exhibited since the late 1960s in Canada and abroad, and his works are held in dozens of public and corporate … [Read more...]
Repatriating Conrad Furey’s art
October 7, 2013 by
Newfoundland-born Conrad Furey was a quintessential Canadian artist, so it seems strange to discover his artworks sitting in Hawaii. Conrad Furey is perhaps best known for his colourful, simply-rendered paintings depicting everyday life on the land and waters of Newfoundland: fishers fishing, mummers mummering, people dancing, etc. The largely self-taught artist also painted Canadians enjoying everyday life: people playing music, sports, going for balloon rides, even taking a bath. But … [Read more...]
The Longevity of Canadian Artists
September 3, 2013 by
The death of Alex Colville at age 92 in July 2013 was a reminder of the amazing longevity of many Canadian artists. Imagine an artistic career encompassing six or seven decades, plenty of time to explore different and sometimes ever-changing dreams, impulses, inspirations, influences, styles, mediums. Of course, not all Canadian artists had lives and creative careers spanning decades. Some, sadly, left us too soon – Tom Thomson at age 40, George Kulmala at 44 – before sharing all their … [Read more...]
Museum celebrates art collecting
June 28, 2013 by
Tucked away in historic Queenston, Ontario is a small public art museum that celebrates art collecting and collectors. RiverBrink Art Museum houses the eclectic collection of Samuel E. Weir, an Ontario lawyer who had a passion for collecting paintings, sculpture, books, stamps, clocks and decorative arts – a collection of about 1,400 pieces. The love of collecting is stamped all over this little gem of a museum, which backs onto the picturesque Niagara River and is surrounded by beautiful … [Read more...]
David Blackwood’s art tells my family’s story
May 15, 2013 by
You don't have to be a Newfoundlander to feel David Blackwood's art, but it helps. I'm not a Newfoundlander, but my family's lifeline run deep through the island's rocky skin and bones. My mother's family were fishers, jigging for cod for several generations in the deep waters off Upper Amherst Cove, a small fishing outport 10 kilometres from Bonavista, Canada's most easterly point, a 4-hour circuitous drive from St. John's. A boat can travel by straight line across the Atlantic between … [Read more...]
