William Brymner (1855-1925) is distinguished in the history of Canadian art as a painter of great talent and as an influential teacher who inspired many of Canada's best-known modern artists. As one of the first Canadian artists to study abroad and then as the director of the Art Association of Montreal art school from 1886 to 1921, his openness to new movements informed both his painting and his pedagogy. As an artist he rejected his formal training in order to explore the effects of light, colour and open space, as is particularly evident in his landscapes. This lavishly illustrated publication features one of the most important public collections as well as one of most important private collections of Brymner's work, that of Power Corporation of Canada. Four scholarly essays present a fresh look at a creative, social, and intellectual milieu in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that, in several ways, had Brymner at its core.

William Brymner: Artist, Teacher, Colleague

The Artist Herself / L'artiste Elle-Meme: Self-portraits by Canadian Historical Women Artists / Autoportraits de Femmes Artistes au Canada

Over the second half of the twentieth century, Canadian philanthropist Ruth Soloway quietly built an astounding collection of paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture spanning the 1840s to the 1980s. While exposure to other cultures strengthened her artistic taste, she maintained a Canadian focus in her collection. From naturalistic landscapes of the nineteenth century to the bold views of Emily Carr and David Milne; from avant-garde abstractions by Paul-Émile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle to figurative paintings by Alex Colville and Jean Paul Lemieux, from William Kurelek's Prairie children to Michael Snow's Walking Woman, the collection reveals a deep passion and keen eye for Canadian art.

A Canadian Collection: The Soloway Gift

Through an audacious juxtaposition of historic with contemporary art spanning 1780 to 2005, this original publication exposes enduring issues and evolving narratives as perceived and recorded by artists. A wide range of work is discussed under three thematic banners: Settlement Nation and Migration, Nature and the Environment, and Social Life and Ritual. The multi-faceted staging of the Canadian experience is brought to life by key historical artists such as Emily Carr, Daniel Fowler, William Notman and Antoine Plamondon as well as by key contemporary artists such as Carl Beam, AA Bronson, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller and Joyce Wieland. Inspired by the mandate of the Chancellor Richardson Memorial Fund at Queen's University and showcasing acquisitions the fund has made possible, New Canadiana highlights the value of works of art as historical documents and artifacts. The idea of the nation is at the core of the cultural sphere this collection aims to enhance and define.

New Canadiana: The Chancellor Richardson Memorial Fund and Art As Social History

Public Pictures/Private Homes: London's Lending Library of Canadian Art 1942 - 1975

Alicia Boutilier is Curator of Canadian Historical Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, where she has produced numerous exhibitions on Canadian historical art, northern indigenous art and historical quilts. Before assuming her current position in 2008, she curated Canadian art exhibitions for several galleries across Ontario. Her exhibition publications include A Vital Force: The Canadian Group of Painters (2013); William Brymner: Artist, Teacher, Colleague (2010); Inspirational: The Collection of H.S. Southam (2009); Public Pictures/Private Homes: London's Lending Library of Canadian Art (1942–1975) (2007); An Intimate Circle: The F.B. Housser Memorial Collection(2005); and 4 Women Who Painted in the 1930s and 1940s: Rody Kenny Courtice, Bobs Cogill Haworth, Yvonne McKague Housser, and Isabel McLaughlin (1998). Alicia is currently co-developing an exhibition entitled The Artist Herself: Self-Portraits by Canadian Women Artists 1850–1950 (forthcoming 2015).

Canadian Art History

Canadian Art Collection

Historical Quilts

Agnes Etherington Art Centre

The Artist Herself: Self-Portraits by Canadian Historical Women Artists

That '70s Kingston art scene

Reproducing a public art project from Canada’s darker days

Regina Haggo: In her own image

The Artist Herself: A New Take on Self-Portraits by Historical Canadian Women Artists

The Artist Herself at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre

Female artists' 'selfies' through the generations

Curator of Canadian Historical Art / Adjunct Professor 

Alicia Boutilier presents the paper "Whose Quilt is it Anyway?" Part of Imagining History: A Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Conference, May 3-5 2012, Concordia University.

This video has been created for educational purposes only. If you are the copyright holder to any of the images projected in the video and you object to their use in this fashion, please contact cwahi@alcor.concordia.ca .

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