Canadian art refers to the

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight ...

(including

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

, and

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniqu ...

) as well as

plastic arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be used broadly for all the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and ...

(such as

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

) originating from the geographical area of contemporary

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of years of habitation by

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

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 The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

has played a role in the development of Canadian culture, through the department of

Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity ...

by giving grants to art galleries, as well as establishing and funding art schools and colleges across the country, and through the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

(established in 1957), the national public arts funder, helping artists, art galleries and periodicals, thus contributing to the visual exposure of Canada`s heritage. The Canada Council Art Bank also helps artists by buying and publicizing their work. The Canadian government has sponsored four official war art programs: the First World War Canadian War Memorials Fund (CWMF), the Second World War Canadian War Records (CWR), the Cold War Canadian Armed Forces Civilian Artists Program (CAFCAP), and the current Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP). The

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is officiall ...

is often considered the first uniquely Canadian artistic group and style of painting; however, this claim is challenged by scholars and artists. Historically, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

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 the same time, working to promote

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

. Canadian art remains the combination of these various influences.

Indigenous art

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 The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

, Plains,

Eastern Woodlands The Eastern Woodlands is a cultural area of the indigenous people of North America. The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, which is now p ...

Subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Genera ...

, and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. 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 made for "utilitarian, shamanistic or decorative purposes, or for pleasure", as Maria Tippett writes. Such objects might be "venerated or considered ephemeral objects". 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. One of the instruments of this policy was the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

, which banned manifestations of traditional religion and governance, such as the

Sun Dance The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, primarily those of the Plains cultures. It usually involves the community gathering together to pray for healing. Individua ...

and the

Potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scie ...

, 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 William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) (Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, 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 Edward Poitras (born in 1953) is a Métis artist based in Saskatchewan. His work, mixed-media sculptures and installations, explores the themes of history, treaties, colonialism, and life both in urban spaces and nature.Edward Poitras
Encyclopedia of Canada and

Rebecca Belmore Rebecca Belmore D.F.A. (born 1960) is an interdisciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist who is notable for politically conscious and socially aware performance and installation work. She is Ojibwe and member of Obishikokaang ( Lac Seul First Nation). ...

, who have represented Canada at the prestigious

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 1995 and 2005, respectively. Toronto-based Cree artist Kent Monkman is the only Canadian artist to be commissioned by

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. In 2019, he produced the diptych ''mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People)'' as part of a new series of contemporary projects presented in the Met's Great Hall.

French colonial period (1665–1759)

Samuel de Champlain Carte geographique de la Nouvelle France

Early explorers such as

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fr ...

made sketches of North American territory as they explored. They also documented conflicts between European colonizers and Indigenous peoples. For instance, a drawing by Champlain, published in 1613, depicts the battle between Champlain's party and the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

that took place in present-day Lake Champlain in 1609. The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in and around

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

was the first to provide artistic patronage. Abbé Hughes Pommier is believed to be the first painter in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

. 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 François (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. 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 up until the British Conquest.

Pierre Le Ber Pierre Le Ber (1669 – 1 October 1707), a son of Jacques Le Ber and brother of Jeanne Le Ber, was a painter from Montreal. Biography Le Ber was a member of two of the wealthiest families in the colony and used his wealth to be a generous ...

, 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 work 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. While early religious painting told little about everyday life, numerous ex-votos completed by amateur artists offered 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 The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

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 According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

is depicted in the sky, saving them. This work was donated to the church at

Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is a town in La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River, north-east of Quebec City. The population was 2,803 according to the Canada 2006 Census. Major religiou ...

as an offering of thanks for the 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 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.

British Colonial period (1759–1820)

A View of Montreal in Canada - Thomas Davies

British Army topographers

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 Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...

views of the colonies. Many officers in the regiments sent to North America had passed through the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich where watercolour painting was part of the curriculum since watercolours were required by soldiers to record the land, as photography had not been invented. Thomas Davies is championed as one of the most talented. Davies recorded the capture of Louisburg and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

among other scenes. Many of Richard Short's drawings and watercolours were reproduced as prints to disseminate knowledge of British expansion. For instance, in 1761, Short’s sketches became the basis for a set of prints depicting the British conquest of Quebec City two years earlier. Scottish-born

George Heriot George Heriot (15 June 1563 – 12 February 1624) was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large independent school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to H ...

was one of the first artist-soldiers to settle in Canada and later produced ''Travels Through the Canadas'' in 1807 filled with his

aquatint Aquatint is an intaglio (printmaking), intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching that produces areas of tone rather than lines. For this reason it has mostly been used in conjunction with etching, to give both lines and shaded tone. ...

prints. James Cockburn also was most prolific, creating views of Quebec City and its surroundings. Forshaw Day worked as a draftsman at Her Majesty's Naval Yard from 1862–79 in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

then moved to

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

to teach drawing at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

from 1879–97.

Lower Canada's Golden Age

In the late 18th century, art in Lower Canada began to prosper due to a larger number of commissions from the public and Church construction. Portrait painting in particular is recognized from this period, as it allowed a higher degree of innovation and change.

François Baillairgé François Baillairgé (21 January 1759 – 15 September 1830) was an architect who also pursued painting and wood sculpture. The son of Jean Baillairgé, François began an apprenticeship in his father's shop at the age of 14. There he studied ...

was one of the first of this generation of artists. He returned to Montreal in 1781 after studying sculpture in London and Paris. The

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

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 by

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

Lower Canada's artists evolved independently from France as the connection was severed during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. While not living in Lower Canada, William Berczy participated in the period's artistic growth. He immigrated to North America from Europe, perhaps

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

, and completed several important portraits of leading figures. For example, he painted three portraits of Kanien’kehá:ka leader

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. Perhaps ...

and his best known work, ''The Woolsley Family,'' painted in Quebec City in 1808–09. As the title of the latter painting 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. Art historian J. Russell Harper believes this era of Canadian art was the first to develop a truly Canadian character. 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.

Antoine Plamondon Antoine-Sébastien Plamondon ( – 1895) was an artist in Quebec, who painted mainly portraits and religious images, the latter commissioned primarily by churches in and around Quebec City. As a young man, he had traveled to France and studied ...

, a student of Légaré, 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.

Krieghoff and Kane

The works of most early Canadian painters were heavily influenced by European trends. During the mid-19th century,

Cornelius Krieghoff Cornelius David Krieghoff (June 19, 1815 – March 5, 1872) was a Dutch-born Canadian-American painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were as sought ...

, 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 Paul Kane (September 3, 1810 – February 20, 1871) was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the Columbia District. A largely self-educated artis ...

painted pictures of Indigenous life around the Great Lakes, Western Canada and the Oregon Territories. The figure of "the Native" played different roles in art, among others from an "intermediary of the environment" to a model of political resistance". Kane and other Western artists catered to the overseas demand for misleading and stereotypical images of violent Prairie warriors. Kane's dramatic painting ''The Death of Omoxesisixany (Big Snake)'' (1849–56) was his only work to be mass-produced and marketed in its own time.

Art under the Dominion of Canada

John Arthur Fraser - Summit Lake near Lenchoile, Bow River, Canadian Pacific Railway

Formed in 1867 by a group of professional painters, including John Fraser, John Bell-Smith, father of

Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith (also known as F. M. Bell-Smith) (September 26, 1846 – June 23, 1923) was a Canadian landscape painter known for his works of the Rocky Mountains and the Selkirk Range, Quebec and Maine. Early life Bell-Smith ...

and Adolphe Vogt, the Society of Canadian Artists in Montreal represented the possibilities these artists felt in the city as an exhibiting place for the arts. 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 Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

remained the predominant stylistic influence, with a growing appreciation for

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

originating with the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

as practiced by Canadians

Homer Watson Homer Ransford Watson (January 14, 1855 – May 30, 1936) was a Canadian landscape painter. He has been characterized as the painter who first painted Canada as Canada, rather than as a pastiche of European painting. He was a member and pres ...

and

Horatio Walker Horatio Walker LL.D. (May 12, 1858 – September 27, 1938) was a Canadian painter. He worked in oils and watercolours, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada. He was influenced by the Barbizon school. Life and work Early life ...

. The Society however did not last beyond 1872. In 1872, the Ontario Society of Artists was founded in Toronto; it is still exhibiting today. The list of objectives drawn up by the founding executive in its constitution included the "fostering of Original Art in the province, the holding of Annual Exhibitions, the formation of an Art Library and Museum and School of Art", all goals that were fulfilled. In 1880, the

Royal Canadian Academy The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor Genera ...

was founded and it, too, is still active today. It was modelled after the British

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

with a hierarchy of members, and provided a new national context and vehicle for the promotion of the visual arts.] The RCA, under the leadership of Robert Harris (painter), Robert Harris, actively sought to place Canadian artists in international exhibitions, such as the

Canadian Exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was the country's contribution to what was commonly called the St. Louis World's Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, in 1904. The exhibition included a showcase of Canadi ...

in 1904.

Early 20th century

The

Canadian Art Club The Canadian Art Club was an artists' group established in Toronto in 1907 to advance the standards of Canadian art exhibitions and to exhibit the work of distinguished Canadian artists, particularly those who had studied abroad or lived there. It ...

, in existence from 1907 to 1915, was formed in an effort to improve the quality of the various standard exhibitions. The founders of the Club were the painters Edmund Morris and Curtis Williamson, who attempted to establish higher standards through small, carefully hung shows. Membership of the Club was by invitation only.

was the first president, and other members included

William Brymner William Brymner, (December 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) was a Canadian figure and landscape painter and educator. In addition to playing a key role in the development of Impressionism in Canada, Brymner taught numerous artists who became leadin ...

, Maurice Cullen, and

James Wilson Morrice James Wilson Morrice (August 10, 1865 – January 23, 1924) was one of the first Canadian landscape painters to be known internationally. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, France, where he lived for most of his career. James Morrice S ...

. The First World War sparked a wide range of artistic expression: photography, film, painting, prints, reproductions, illustration, posters, craft, sculpture, and memorials. Artists initiated some of this work themselves, but the Canadian government and private agencies sponsored the vast majority of it.

Nationalism and the Group of Seven

The Group of Seven asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism in Europe, including

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

and

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ...

. Some of the later members worked as commercial artists at a Toronto company called Grip Ltd. where they were encouraged to paint outdoors in their spare time. As mature artists, Influenced by the example of

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His ...

, they painted works in the studio from sketches made on small panels while on location in Northern Ontario or in the environment closer to home. The group had its genesis at Toronto's Arts & Letters Club before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, though the war delayed its official formation until 1920. The eventual members were Franklin Carmichael,

Lawren Harris Lawren Stewart Harris LL. D. (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter, best known as a leading member of the Group of Seven. He played a key role as a catalyst in Canadian art and as a visionary in Canadian landscape art. ...

A. Y. Jackson Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. (October 3, 1882April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing toget ...

, Frank Johnston,

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

J. E. H. MacDonald James Edward Hervey MacDonald (1873–1932) was an English-Canadian artist, best known as a member of the Group of Seven who asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism in Europe in the ear ...

, and

Frederick Varley Frederick Horsman Varley (January 2, 1881 – September 8, 1969) was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven. Career Early life Varley was born in Sheffield, England, in 1881, the son of Lucy (Barstow) and Samuel James Smith Varley the 7th. He ...

. Harris helped, with Dr. James MacCallum, by funding the construction of the Studio building in Toronto in 1913 for some of the group's use as studio space. He also helped fund many of the group's northern excursions beginning 1919 by having a box car outfitted with sleeping quarters and heat, then left at prearranged train track locations to be re-located when the group wanted to move or return. These actions were possible due to Harris' family fortune and influence: his father had been secretary to the A. Harris company which amalgamated with Massey to form the

Massey-Harris Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in ...

Company which shipped most of its production by train.

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

and various other artists were associated with the Group of Seven but were not invited to be members. Tom Thomson, often referred to, but never officially a member, died in 1917 due to an accident on Canoe Lake in Northern Ontario. In 1933, members of the Group of Seven decided to enlarge the group and formed the

Canadian Group of Painters The Canadian Group of Painters (CGP) was a collective of 28 painters from across Canada who came together as a group in 1933. Formation The Canadian Group of Painters succeeded the disbanded Group of Seven, whose paintings of the Canadian wil ...

, made up of 28 artists from across the country. Today, particularly with the work of Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and Emily Carr, Canadian art is reaching new highs in the Canadian auction market. Tom Thomson`s work is especially recognized as a contribution to North American

and the Group of Seven mythology has become an important part of national identity.

Beginning of non-objective art

In the 1920s, Kathleen Munn,

Bertram Brooker Bertram Richard Brooker, (March 31, 1888 – March 22, 1955) was one of Canada's pioneer abstract painters.Joan Murray. Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century'. Dundurn; November 1999. . p. 40-41. A self-taught polymath, in addition to being a ...

and Lowrie Warrener independently experimented with abstract or non-objective art in Canada. Some of these artists viewed abstract art as a way to explore

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ism and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

as an integral part of their spirituality. After the Group of Seven was enlarged into the

, in about 1936,

began to paint abstractly. These individual artists indirectly influenced the following generation of artists who would come to form groups of abstract art following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, by changing the definition of art in Canadian society and by encouraging young artists to explore abstract themes.

Contemporaries of the Group of Seven

The

Beaver Hall Group The Beaver Hall Group refers to a Montreal-based group of Canadian painters who met in the late 1910s while studying art at a school run by the Art Association of Montreal. The Group is notable for its equal inclusion of men and women artists, as w ...

(1920-1922) in Montreal, a collective of eighteen painters and one sculptor, was founded just after the

`s first show. It was named for a building at 305 Beaver Hall which provided a meeting and exhibition space. By the late 1930s, many Canadian artists began resenting the quasi-national institution the

had become. As a result of a growing rejection of the view that the efforts of a group of artists based largely in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

constituted a national vision or oeuvre, many artists—notably those in

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

—began feeling ignored and undermined. Founded in 1938 in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, the Eastern Group of Painters included Montréal artists whose common interest was painting and an

art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divorce ...

aesthetic, not the espousal of a nationalist credo as was the case with the Group of Seven or the

. The group's members included Alexander Bercovitch,

Goodridge Roberts William Goodridge Roberts (1904–1974) was a Canadian painter known for his landscape paintings, still lifes, figure paintings and interiors. He was also a teacher. Career Goodridge Roberts was the son of poet and novelist George Edward Theod ...

, Eric Goldberg, Jack Weldon Humphrey,

John Goodwin Lyman John Goodwin Lyman (September 29, 1886 – May 26, 1967) was an American-born Canadian modernist painter active largely in Montreal, Quebec. In the 1930s he did much to promote modern art in Canada, founding the Contemporary Art Society in 1939. ...

, and

Jori Smith Marjorie "Jori" Smith, (January 1, 1907 – November 25, 2005) was a key figure in the 1930s in initiating Canada's modernist art movement. She was a founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society in 1939. Biography Smith was born in Montreal ...

. The Eastern Group of Painters was formed to restore variation of purpose, method, and geography to Canadian art. It evolved into the

Contemporary Arts Society The Contemporary Arts Society was founded by John Lyman in 1939 to promote modern art in Montreal, at a time when Canada was dominated by academic art. Lyman was the Society's first president. The additional officers were vice-president Paul-Émil ...

(Société d'art contemporain) which was formed in 1939 by

to promote an awareness of modern art in Montréal.

1930s regionalism

Since the 1930s, Canadian painters have developed a wide range of highly individual styles and painted in different regions of Canada.

became famous for her paintings of totem poles, native villages, and the forests of British Columbia.

Jack Humphrey Jack Weldon Humphrey (12 January 1901 – 23 March 1967) was a Canadian landscape and figure painter, mainly in watercolour. Art historian J. Russell Harper called him the "most significant eastern Canadian painter of his generation". Biograph ...

painted Saint John, New Brunswick, Carl Schaefer painted Hanover, Ontario, John Lyman painted the Laurentians, and a contingent of artists painted Baie St. Paul in Charlevoix County, Quebec. Later painters who painted specific landscapes include the prairie painter

William Kurelek William Kurelek, (March 3, 1927 – November 3, 1977) was a Canadian artist and writer. His work was influenced by his childhood on the prairies, his Ukrainian-Canadian roots, his struggles with mental illness, and his conversion to Roman Cath ...

After World War II

The abstract painters Jean-Paul Riopelle and multi-media artist

Michael Snow Michael Snow (born December 10, 1928) is a Canadian artist working in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are '' Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Région Centrale'' (1971), with the ...

can be said to have an influence beyond Canadian borders.

Les Automatistes Les Automatistes were a group of Québécois artistic dissidents from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The movement was founded in the early 1940s by painter Paul-Émile Borduas. Les Automatistes were so called because they were influenced by Surrea ...

were a group of Québécois artistic dissidents from Montreal, Quebec, founded by

Paul-Émile Borduas Paul-Émile Borduas (November 1, 1905 – February 22, 1960) was a Québecois artist known for his abstract paintings. He was the leader of the avant-garde Automatiste movement and the chief author of the Refus Global manifesto of 1948. Bor ...

in the early 1940s. It lasted till 1954, the year of the group`s last exhibition. However, their artistic influence was not quickly felt in English Canada, or indeed much beyond

. The abstract art group

Painters Eleven Painters Eleven (also known as Painters 11 or P11) was a group of abstract artists active in Canada between 1953 and 1960. They are associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. History Since the 1920s, artists in English Canada had been h ...

(1953-1960), founded in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, particularly the artist

William Ronald William Ronald Smith (August 13, 1926 – February 9, 1998), known professionally as William Ronald, was an important Canadian painter, best known as the founder of the influential Canadian abstract art group Painters Eleven in 1953 and for hi ...

, who is credited with the group's formation, and

Jack Bush John Hamilton Bush (March 20, 1909 – January 24, 1977) was a Canadian abstract painter. A member of Painters Eleven, his paintings are associated with the Color Field movement and Post-painterly Abstraction. Inspired by Henri Ma ...

, also had an important impact on modern art in Canada.

increased opportunities to exhibit by its members.

Regina Five Regina Five is the name given to five abstract painters, Kenneth Lochhead, Arthur McKay, Douglas Morton, Ted Godwin, and Ronald Bloore, who displayed their works in the 1961 National Gallery of Canada's exhibition "Five Painters from Regina". ...

is the name given to five abstract painters,

Kenneth Lochhead Kenneth Campbell Lochhead, (May 22, 1926 – July 15, 2006) was a Canadian professor and painter. He was the brother of poet Douglas Lochhead. Career Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Lochhead attended the Summer Art School at Queen's University in 1944. ...

Arthur McKay Arthur Fortescue McKay, best known as Art McKay (September 11, 1926 – August 3, 2000) was a Canadian painter and a member of The Regina Five. Many of his works are modernist abstractions. Early life and education McKay was born in Nipawin, S ...

Douglas Morton Murray Douglas Morton (1916–2001) was a Canadian soldier, lawyer, politician, and judge. He was best known as an elected trustee of the Toronto Board of Education, as federal Member of Parliament for Toronto's Davenport riding, and as a judg ...

Ted Godwin Edward W. (Ted) Godwin, D.F.A. (August 13, 1933 – January 3, 2013) was the youngest member of the Regina Five, a group of five artists ( Ken Lochhead, Art McKay, Ron Bloore and Douglas Morton) all based in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1961 when ...

, and

Ronald Bloore Ronald Langley Bloore, D.Litt LL.D FRSC (May 29, 1925 – September 4, 2009) was a Canadian abstract artist and teacher. He was a member of the Regina Five. Education Born in Brampton, Ontario, Bloore received a B.A. in art and archaeolo ...

, who exhibited their works in the 1961

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

's exhibition "Five Painters from Regina". Though not an organized group per se, the name stuck with the 'members' and the artists continued to show together.Terry Fenton, ''"ECAS And What It Stands For"'', ECAS 15th Annual Exhibition catalogue essay Canadian sculpture has been enriched by the walrus ivory and soapstone carvings of 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

The 1960s saw the emergence of several important local and regional developments in dialogue with international trends. Robert Murray, one of Canada`s foremost abstract sculptors, moved to New York City from Saskatchewan in 1960, and began his progression to International fame. In Toronto, Spadina Avenue in the 1960s became a hotspot for a loose affiliation of artists, notably Gordon Rayner,

Graham Coughtry Graham Coughtry (June 6, 1931January 13, 1999), was a Canadian modernist figurative painter. Biography Coughtry was born in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, on June 8, 1931. He learned to paint at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School, then attended ...

, and Robert Markle, who came to define the "Toronto look." Other notable moments when Canadian contemporary artists—as individuals or groups—have distinguished themselves through international recognition or collaborations: * The interdisciplinary art practice and international success of

began in the 1960s. *

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design or NSCAD, is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The uni ...

(NSCAD). From 1967 to 1990, Garry Neill Kennedy, as President, remade the College into an international centre for artistic activity and invited notable artists to come to NSCAD as visiting artists, particularly those involved in

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called ins ...

. Artists who made significant contributions during this period include Vito Acconci,

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

, Dan Graham, Eric Fischl,

Lawrence Weiner Lawrence Charles Weiner (February 10, 1942December 2, 2021) was an American conceptual artist. He was one of the central figures in the formation of conceptual art in the 1960s. His work often took the form of typographic texts, a form of word a ...

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

and

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

Krzysztof Wodiczko Krzysztof Wodiczko (born April 16, 1943) is a Polish artist known for his large-scale slide and video projections on architectural facades and monuments. He has realized more than 80 such public projections in Australia, Austria, Canada, England, ...

, became an artist-in-residence at NSCAD in 1976 and taught there till 1981. In 1984, he became a Canadian citizen, but went on to increasing fame in New York. *

AA Bronson AA Bronson (born Michael Tims in Vancouver in 1946) is an artist. He was a founding member of the artists' group General Idea, was president and director of Printed Matter, Inc., and started the NY Art Book Fair and the LA Art Book Fair. Ea ...

Felix Partz Ronald Gabe (1945 in Winnipeg, Manitoba – 1994) publicly known as Felix Partz, was a Canadian artist and cofounder of the artistic collective General Idea with Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson. Partz tended toward the iconoclastic. While still a ...

and Jorge Zontal under the name of

General Idea General Idea was a collective of three Canadian artists, Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson, who were active from 1967 to 1994. As pioneers of early conceptual and media-based art, their collaboration became a model for artist-initiated a ...

, active from 1967 to 1994, achieved international success. * The video art and photography of David Askevold, an early and highly influential contributor to the development and pedagogy of the conceptual art movement, occurred. He was invited to NSCAD in 1968. His work is included in the collection of New York's

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

. * CAR, later

CARFAC Canadian Artists' Representation/ (CARFAC) is a non-profit corporation that serves as the national voice of Canada's professional visual artists. The mandate of CARFAC is to promote the visual arts in Canada, to promote a socio-economic climate ...

(in French, Le Front des artistes canadiens) was founded in Ontario by Jack Chambers, with the aid of Tony Urquhart, and Kim Ondaatje in 1968,, ensuring the recognition of artists` copyrights. Due to it, Canada became the first country to pay mandatory exhibition fees to artists. In Moncton, the creation of a fine arts department at the nascent

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on highe ...

in 1963 was headed by sculptor

Claude Roussel Claude Roussel (born 1930) is a Canadian sculptor, painter and educator. Early life and education Roussel was born in 1930 in Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada. He was 10 years old when he began sculpting wood. At the age of 14, Roussel's arti ...

, who was representative of CARFAC in New Brunswick and attended the first national conference in Winnipeg of CAR 1971. * Colin Campbell and

Lisa Steele Lisa Steele D.Litt. (born 1947) is a Canadian artist, a pioneer in video art, educator, curator and co-founder of Vtape in Toronto. Born in the United States, Steele moved to Canada in 1968 and is now a Canadian citizen. She has collaborated ex ...

began their pioneering early

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...

in Toronto in the early 1970s - Steele`s ''

Birthday Suit – with scars and defects ''Birthday Suit – with scars and defects'' (1974) is a thirteen-minute black and white video art tape by Canadian artist Lisa Steele. It is her best known early work and depicts Steele "present ngher naked body to the unblinking gaze of the ca ...

'' (1974) is a classic. * In Vancouver, Ian Wallace was particularly influential in nurturing an international dialogue through his teaching and exchange programs from 1972 on when he was hired at the

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co-e ...

(formerly the Vancouver School of Art). He also encouraged visits from influential figures such as

Lucy Lippard Lucy Rowland Lippard (born April 14, 1937) is an American writer, art critic, activist, and curator. Lippard was among the first writers to argue for the " dematerialization" at work in conceptual art and was an early champion of feminist art. S ...

and

Robert Smithson Robert Smithson (January 2, 1938 – July 20, 1973) was an American artist known for sculpture and land art who often used drawing and photography in relation to the spatial arts. His work has been internationally exhibited in galleries and m ...

which exposed younger artists to

. * The

Vancouver School The Vancouver School of Conceptual art, conceptual or post-conceptual photography (often referred to as photoconceptualismSarah Milroy "Is Arden our next greatest photographer?" ''Globe and Mail'' (October 27, 2007): R1.) is a loose term applied t ...

of Photoconceptualism (including

Jeff Wall Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he helped define the Van ...

Rodney Graham William Rodney Graham (January 16, 1949 – October 22, 2022) was a Canadian visual artist and musician. He was closely associated with the Vancouver School. Early life Graham was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on January 16, 1949. ...

and Stan Douglas) began in the 1980s. * In 1981,

Arnaud Maggs Arnaud Maggs (May 5, 1926 – November 17, 2012) was a Canadian artist and photographer. Born in Montreal, Maggs is best known for stark portraits arranged in grid-like arrangements, which illustrate his interest in systems of identification and c ...

worked on three grid-based portrait works documenting members of Toronto’s art and cultural community: ''48 Views'', ''Turning'', and ''Downwind''. Together, these works form an extensive visual archive—a kind of who’s who—of the Toronto arts and culture scene in the 1980s. * The career of

Janet Cardiff Janet Cardiff (born March 15, 1957) is a Canadian artist who works chiefly with sound and sound installations, often in collaboration with her husband and partner George Bures Miller. Cardiff first gained international recognition in the art worl ...

and

George Bures Miller George Bures Miller (born 1960) is a Canadian artist noted for his collaborative works with his wife Janet Cardiff. Miller and Cardiff represented Canada at the 2001 Venice Biennale. They are based in British Columbia, Canada. Solo works Works ...

, who represented Canada at the 49th

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 2001, became internationally successful. * The films of Mark Lewis, who represented Canada at the

in 2009, have been exhibited in solo museum shows at the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris (2014),

The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian non-collecting public contemporary art gallery located at the heart of Toronto, Ontario at the Harbourfront Centre. It is a registered Canadian charitable organization supported by its membe ...

, Toronto (2015), the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

which organized ''Mark Lewis. Canada'' (2017), the Museo de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) (2020), and at numerous other international venues. His work has been purchased for public collections world wide. * The paintings of

Steven Shearer Steven Shearer (born 1968) is a contemporary artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia, part of the photoconceptualism scene of the Vancouver School. Work Shearer attended Emily Carr University in Vancouver, and then painted work which combined ...

, who represented Canada in the

in 2011, are increasingly sought after and shown at international galleries. * The ceramic figure work of

Shary Boyle Shary Boyle D.F.A. (born May 26, 1972) is a contemporary Canadian visual artist working in the mediums of sculpture, drawing, painting and performance art. She lives and works in Toronto. Early life and education Boyle was born in the Toronto s ...

, who represented Canada in the

in 2013, is increasingly recognized internationally. *

Geoffrey Farmer Geoffrey Farmer (born 1967) is best known for extensive multimedia installations made of cut-out images which form collages. Life Early career Farmer was born on Eagle Island, BC in 1967. His career as an artist was unplanned, but he attended an ...

, who represented Canada in the Venice Biennale in 2017, has attracted significant international media attention in international publications contributing to a global conversation about contemporary art in Canada, particularly for his show titled ''A Way Out of the Mirror''. * In 2019, New York’s

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

commissioned Kent Monkman to produce the diptych ''mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People)'' (2019) as part of a new series of contemporary projects presented in its Great Hall. In 2020, The Met acquired the dipytch, which consists of the paintings ''Welcoming the Newcomers'' and ''Resurgence of the People''. Recent achievements of Canadian artists are showcased online at the Canada Council Art Bank site.

References

External links

*
Artists in Canada
A CHIN (Canadian Heritage Information Network) Resource {{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Art Art by country

Art in Canada Canadian art refers to the visual arts, 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 ...

Indigenous art

French colonial period (1665–1759)

Early art in British North America

British Colonial period (1759–1820)

British Army topographers

Lower Canada's Golden Age

Krieghoff and Kane

Art under the Dominion of Canada

Early 20th century

Nationalism and the Group of Seven

Beginning of non-objective art

Contemporaries of the Group of Seven

1930s regionalism

After World War II

Contemporary art

See also

References

Further reading

External links