Canadian art refers to the visual arts (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as the plastic arts (such as sculpture), originating in the geographic area of modern Canada. Art in Canada is marked by millennia of indigenous habitation, followed by waves of immigration, which included artists of European descent and then artists of heritage from around the world. The nature of Canadian art reflects this diverse background, as artists have taken their traditions and adapted these influences to reflect the reality of their lives in Canada.
The Canadian government has, at times, played a central role in the development of Canadian culture, enabling a visual impact through publications and periodicals, as well as the creation and funding of numerous art schools and colleges across the country. Seven is often considered the first unambiguously Canadian art group and style of painting. However, this claim is disputed by some scholars and artists. Historically the Catholic Church was the main patron of art in early Canada, especially in Quebec, and in later times artists combined British, French and American artistic traditions, sometimes adopting European styles and sometimes working to promote nationalism.developing distinctly Canadian styles. Canadian art remains a combination of these different influences.
Indigenous Art
Indigenous peoples produced art in what is now Canada, thousands of years before the arrival of European settler colonists and the eventual establishment of Canada as a nation-state. Like the peoples who created them, Indigenous art traditions span territories beyond the current national boundaries between Canada and the United States. Traditional Native 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, artistic traditions vary greatly among and within these diverse groups. One thing that distinguishes indigenous art from European traditions is an orientation toward 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 fine art is also often used in conjunction with other art forms, for example, masks and rattlesnakes play an important role in ceremonialism, which also includes dance, storytelling, and music.
Many of the artworks in museum collections date from the period after contact with Europeans and show creative borrowing and adaptation of European trade goods, such as metal and glass beads. The various mestizo cultures that emerged as a result of intercultural relations with Europeans also contributed to new cultural-hybrid art forms. During the 19th and first half of the 20th century, the Canadian government pursued an active policy of assimilation toward indigenous peoples. One instrument of this policy was the Indian Act, which banned manifestations of traditional religion and governance, such as the SunDance and Potlatch, including related works of art. It was not until the 1950s and ’60s that indigenous artists such as Mungo Martin, Bill Reed and Norval Morrisseau began to publicly renew, and in some cases reinvent, indigenous artistic traditions. There are now many Indigenous artists practicing in all media in Canada, and two Indigenous artists, such as Edward Poitras and Rebecca Belmore, who represented Canada at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1995 and 2005, respectively.
French Colonial Period
The period from 1665 to 1759.
Early explorers such as Samuel de Champlain sketched the territory of North America during their explorations, but it was the Roman Catholic Church in and around Quebec that was the first to provide artistic patronage. Abbot Hughes Pommier is considered the first artist of New France. Pommier left France in 1664 and worked as a priest in various congregations before becoming active in painting. Artists of New France, such as Pommier and Claude François (known primarily as Frères Luc), believed in the ideals of High Renaissance art, in which religious images were often combined formally with outwardly classical clothing and furnishings. Few artists in this early period signed their works, making attribution difficult today.
Toward the end of the 17th century the population of New France grew steadily, but the territory became increasingly isolated from France. Fewer artists arrived from Europe, but New France artists continued to receive commissions from the church. Two schools were opened in New France to teach art, and several artists worked throughout New France until the British conquest. Pierre Le Bair, from a wealthy Montreal family, is one of the most famous artists of this period. Believed to be self-taught because he never left New France, Le Bair’s work is universally admired. In particular, his depiction of St. Marguerite of Bourgeois has been hailed by a Canadian art historian as “the most moving depiction of the French period.
While early religious painting told little of everyday life, the numerous ex-votos made by amateur painters provided vivid impressions of life in New France. Ex-votos, or vow paintings, were created as a way of thanking God or the saints for answering prayer. One of the most famous examples of this kind of work is the Ex-voto des trois naufragés de Lévis (1754). Five young men were crossing the St. Lawrence River at night when their boat capsized in rough water. Two of the girls drowned, weighed down by their heavy dresses, while two young men and one woman managed to hold on to the overturned boat until help arrived. St. Anne is depicted in the sky rescuing them. This work was donated to the church in St. Anne de Beaupré. As an offering of gratitude for three lives saved.
Early Art in British North America
The early ports of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland did not experience the same degree of artistic growth, largely because of their Protestant beliefs in simple church decoration, which did not encourage artists or sculptors. However, itinerant artists, painters who traveled to various communities to sell work, often visited the area. Dutch-born artist Gerard Edema is believed to have painted the first landscape of Newfoundland in the early 18th century.
British Colonial Period
The period from 1759 to 1820.
Topographers of the British Army
The Battle of Quebec left numerous British soldiers garrisoned in strategic locations in the territory. In their spare time, many of these soldiers drew and painted Canadian lands and people, which were often sold in European markets, hungry for exotic, picturesque views of the colonies. In addition, the soldiers required drawing to take pictures of the land, since photography had not been invented. Thomas Davis is considered one of the most talented. Davis recorded the capture of Louisburg and Montreal, among other scenes. George Heriot, born in Scotland, was one of the first soldier-artists to settle in Canada and later producedThe Journey to Canada in 1807, filled with aquatint prints. Forshaw Day worked as a draftsman in Her Majesty’s Navy Yard from 1862 to 1879 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, then moved to Kingston, Ontario, to teach drawing at the Royal Military College of Canada from 1879 to 1897.
The Golden Age of Lower Canada
In the late 18th century, art in Lower Canada began to flourish thanks to more commissions from the public and church building. Portrait painting, in particular, is known from this period because it allowed for a greater degree of innovation and change. François Bayerger was one of the first artists of this generation. He returned to Montreal in 1781 after studying sculpture in London and Paris. The Rococo style influenced several artists from Lower Canada who sought to create light and carefree painting. Bayerger, however, did not embrace rococo, instead focusing on sculpture and teaching under the influence of neoclassicism.
Artists in Lower Canada developed independently of France, as the connection was severed during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. While not living in Lower Canada, William Burchie participated in the artistic growth of the period. He immigrated to Canada from Saxony and painted several important portraits of leading figures. For example, he painted three portraits of Joseph Brant, and his most famous work, The Wolseley Family, painted in Quebec in 1808-09. As the title suggests, the work features full-length portraits of all members of the Wolseley family. It is marked in part by the elaborate arrangement of the figures, the decorative floor panels, and the detailed view of the landscape through an open window. Art historian J. Russell Harper believes that this era in Canadian art was the first in which a truly Canadian character developed.
The second generation of artists continued this flowering of artistic growth from about the 1820s. Joseph Legare was trained as a painter-decorator and copyist. This did not hinder his artistic creativity, however, as he was one of the first Canadian artists to depict the local landscape. Legare is best known for his depictions of disasters such as cholera epidemics, rock slides and fires. Antoine Plamondon, a student of Legare, continued his studies in France, becoming the first French-Canadian artist to do so in 48 years. Plamondon became the most successful painter of the period, mainly through religious and portrait commissions.
Krieghoff and Kane
The work of most of the early Canadian artists was heavily influenced by European trends. In the mid-19th century Cornelius Kriegoff, a Dutch painter from Quebec, painted scenes from the life of the inhabitants (French-Canadian farmers). Around the same time, Canadian artist Paul Kane painted pictures of indigenous life around the Great Lakes, Western Canada, and the Oregon Territories.
Art under the Dominion of Canada
Founded in 1870 by a group of artists including John Bell-Smith, Father Frederick Marlette Bell-Smith and Adolph Vogt, the Canadian Society of Artists was the first organization to reflect new political boundaries and perhaps a national identity. The group consisted of artists of diverse backgrounds, with many Canadians of newcomer and French descent living in Ontario and Quebec. With no group philosophical or artistic goals, most artists sought simply to please the public in order to generate income. Romanticism remained the predominant stylistic influence, with a growing acceptance of realism originating from the Barbizon school.practiced by Canadians Homer Watson and Horatio Walker.
Early 20th century
Nationalism and the Group of Seven
A group of landscape painters called the “Group of Seven” sought to develop the first purely Canadian style of painting. Some worked as commercial illustrators, especially at Grip of Toronto, and were influenced by the Art Nouveau style now popular in Europe. They painted studio paintings of varying sizes along with many smaller works while in the backwoods of Canada’s then wilderness.
The group originated at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club before World War I, although the war delayed their official formation. Possible members included Franklin Carmichael, Lauren Harris, A.J. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, Jeff MacDonald and Frederick Varley. Harris helped finance many of the group’s wilderness excursions by ordering special covered wagons equipped with sleeping quarters and heating, then leaving them at pre-arranged locations on the railroad tracks to be driven back when the group wanted to return. This was made possible by Harris’ family wealth and influence as part of the Massey Harris Combine, which shipped most of its products by train. He later helped fund, along with others, the construction of a building for the group’s use as a studio in Toronto.
Emily Carr and other artists were loosely associated with the Group of Seven, but never became members. Tom Thomson, often mentioned but never officially a member, died in 1917 due to an accident on Lake Canoe in Northern Ontario. In the 1930s, members of the Group of Seven decided to expand the club and formed the Canadian Group of Artists, which included 28 artists from across the country.
The beginnings of non-figurative art
In the 1920s, Kathleen Mann and Bertram Brooker independently experimented with abstract or non-object art in Canada. Both artists saw abstract art as a way to explore symbolism and mysticism as an integral part of their personal spirituality. When the Group of Seven was expanded into a Canadian group of artists in the 1930s, Lauren Harris left the group’s focus on depicting the Canadian landscape and experimented with abstract forms in an effort to represent broad conceptual themes. These individual artists indirectly influenced the next generation of artists who formed abstract art groups after World War II, changing the definition of art in Canadian society and encouraging young artists to explore abstract themes.
Seven’s contemporaries
Founded in 1938 in Montreal, Quebec, the Eastern Artists Group included Montreal artists whose common interests were in painting and art for the sake of art aesthetics rather than in support of nationalist theory, as was the case with the Group of Seven or the Canadian Artists Group. Artists. The group included Alexander Berkowitz, Goodridge Roberts, Eric Goldberg, Jack Weldon Humphrey, John Goodwin Lyman, and Jory Smith.
By the late 1930s many Canadian artists began to resent the quasi-national institution that 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 primarily in Ontario represented a national vision or creativity, many artists – especially in Quebec – began to feel that they were being ignored and undermined. An Eastern group of artists formed to confront this notion and reclaim the diversity of purpose, methods and geography of Canadian art.
Regionalism of the 1930s
Since the 1930s, Canadian artists have developed a wide range of very individual styles. Emily Carr became famous for her paintings of totem poles, native villages and the forests of British Columbia. Other famous artists include landscape painter David Milne and prairie painter William Kurelek. In Quebec, John Goodwin Lyman founded the Contemporary Art Society in 1939, promoting post-Impressionist and Fauvist art. Paul-Emile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopel led a modernist collective known as Les Automatistes, which began holding exhibitions as early as 1941. However, their artistic influence was not immediately felt in English Canada or even far beyond Montreal.
After World War II
Government support played a vital role in the development of the arts, as did the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country.
Abstract artists Jean-Paul Riopel and Harold Towne and multimedia artist Michael Snow. The abstract art group Painters Eleven, in particular artists Alexandra Luke, who is credited with forming the group, and Jack Bush, also had an important influence on contemporary art in Canada. The Painters Eleven (1953-1960) was founded in Toronto to promote the abstract works of its members.
Regina Five was the name given to five abstractionist artists, Kenneth Lochhead, Arthur Mackay, Douglas Morton, Ted Godwin and Ronald Bloor, who presented their work at the National Gallery of Canada in the 1961 exhibition Five Artists from Regina. Although it was not an organized group as such, the name stuck with the “participants” and the artists continued to perform together.
The Canadian sculpture was decorated with carvings of walrus bone and soapstone by Inuit artists. These carved figures depict objects and actions from their daily lives, both modern and traditional, as well as scenes from their mythology.
Modern Art
The 1960s saw several important developments locally and regionally in dialogue with international trends. In Vancouver Ian Wallace (artist) was particularly influential in developing this dialogue through his teaching and exchange programs at Emily Carr University of Art and Design (formerly Vancouver School of Art), as well as visits by influential figures such as Lucy Lippard and Robert Smithson. introduced young artists to conceptual art.
In Toronto, Spadina Avenue became a hotspot for free-form artists, notably Gordon Rayner, Graham Currie and Robert Markle, who came to define “Toronto’s image.”
Other notable moments where contemporary Canadian artists-as individuals or groups-were distinguished by community, international recognition, collaboration or zeitgeist:
- Michael Snow’s interdisciplinary art practice and international success since the 1960s.
- In Moncton, the creation of the Fine Arts Department at the fledgling Université de Moncton in 1963 under the direction of sculptor Claude Roussel and founder of CARFAC.
- Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (Université NSCAD). In 1967, artist Harry Kennedy was appointed president, turning the college into an international center of artistic activity and inviting well-known artists to come to NSCAD as guest artists, especially those involved in conceptual art. Artists who made significant contributions during this period include Vito Acconci, Sol Levitt, Dan Graham, Eric Fischl, Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Beuys and Klas Oldenburg.
- Pioneers of early video art from Lisa Steele (birthday suit – scarring and defects) and Colleen Campbell
- Vancouver School of Photoconceptualism (including Jeff Wall, Rodney Graham and Stan Douglas)
- The international success of A.A. Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal as General Idea.
- Video art and photography by David Askevold, one of the first and very influential participants in the development and pedagogy of the conceptual art movement. His work was included in the seminal exhibition “Information” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970.
- The successful careers of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, who represented Canada at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001.
Canadian land-based casinos and contemporary art
Casinos and art may not seem like they have much in common, but in Canada, they often go hand-in-hand. Many of the country’s land-based casinos are located in or near major cities, and they often commission contemporary artists to create pieces that reflect the local community. As a result, Canadian casinos are not only places where people can gamble and have fun, but they’re also unique cultural hubs. In addition to being a great way to support the arts, Casinos Online CA offers visitors a chance to experience something different from the traditional museum or gallery. Whether you’re interested in trying your hand at blackjack or admiring some world-class artwork, a Canadian casino is definitely worth a visit.
Conclusion of a review of an article on contemporary Canadian art
The article provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of Canadian art. It is evident that there are many talented artists working in Canada today, and the range of mediums being explored is vast. If you are interested in learning more about contemporary Canadian art, I recommend reading this article. You can also find out more by visiting our website, where we have reviews of various exhibitions and artist profiles.