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In the final video of our four-part ‘100 Years: The Group of Seven and Other Voices’ series, Danielle looks at three Western-Canadian artists: Euphemia McNaught, Illingworth Kerr and Maxwell Bates.
‘100 Years: The Group of Seven and Other Voices’ is organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta, and curated by Danielle Siemens. Presented by Capital Powered Art, an exhibition series sponsored by Capital Power.
Watch the previous tour as mentioned by Danielle here: • ‘100 Years: The G…
The AGA is currently closed to comply with Alberta Health Services COVID-19 requirements & best interest for public health and safety. We hope to announce our reopening soon for you to enjoy the exhibition in-person.In the final video of our four-part ‘100 Years: The Group of Seven and Other Voices’ series, Danielle looks at three Western-Canadian artists: Euphemia McNaught, Illingworth Kerr and Maxwell Bates.
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Euphemia Mcnaught and Illinois Kerr
Euphemia Mcnaught and Illinois Kerr
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Euphemia Mcnaught and Illinois Kerr
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Maxwell Bates
Maxwell Bates
1:26
Maxwell Bates
1:26
Prairie Landscape
Prairie Landscape
1:49
Prairie Landscape
1:49
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[Music]
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in the final stop of our
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virtual tour of 100 years the group of
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seven and other voices
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we’re going to look at a selection of
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work by three artists who were based in
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western canada
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specifically in alberta they’re also of
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a slightly younger generation than the
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group of seven
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so first we have euphemia mcnaught and
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illinois kerr
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and they were both from small towns in
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northern alberta and saskatchewan
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but they traveled to toronto to study at
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the ontario college of art
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where they counted several group of
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seven members as their teachers
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and this included frederick varley j.e.h
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mcdonald and arthur lismer
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now both these artists were interested
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in the group of seven’s approach
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to the landscape and to a kind of sense
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of canadian identity through art
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but they wanted to bring that idea back
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to
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their home landscapes particularly to
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the prairies and to northern alberta
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areas that the group of seven often
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didn’t paint in
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so we have some examples of euphemia
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mcnaught’s printmaking
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in the peace river region and she was
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really important to the art and culture
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of northern alberta
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and a landscape painting by illinois
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kerr
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that depicts the prairies and rolling
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hills
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so finally we have the work of maxwell
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bates now bates actively rejected the
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group of seven’s dominance and their
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preoccupation with
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landscape he was based in calgary but he
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spent some time living abroad in europe
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where he exhibited alongside
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expressionist and surrealist artists
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and he was really concerned with the
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social world around him
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so here we have a painting from the
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mid-1940s that depicts a prairie
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landscape
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but rather than the kind of empty
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wilderness that we associate with the
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group of seven
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he puts people into his landscapes and
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lending it a more kind of expressive
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dimension
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and here we have a scene that evokes
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hardship
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and isolation perhaps some fear in this
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post-world war ii world
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so this brings us to the end of our
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exhibition tour
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i hope you can make it to the gallery to
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see this show which is on until march
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14th
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and if you’re interested in hearing more
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about this show
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particularly work by tom thompson and
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the group of seven
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you can refer to our website for an
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earlier virtual tour i did
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you
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