BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS  

Vancouver Daily Province, July 23 1941

In The Realm of Art

Vancouver Artists' Paintings Bought for Famous Collection

by Palette

     Contemporary Canadian art, including that of British Columbia, is receiving considerable material recognition. This success is due chiefly to the purchase of works of Dominion artists by the International Business Machines Corporation for their famous collection.
     Works of Vancouver artists thus recently acquired include paintings by J.W.G. Macdonald and William P. Weston, A.R.C.A., and an etching by Paul Goranson, mural painter and member of the Vancouver School of Art Staff.
     Purchases have also been made of paintings by Alexander J. Musgrove and Lemoine L. Fitzgerald of Manitoba, Bernard Middleton and Nikolas de Grandmaison of Alberta, and Ernest F. Lindner and Frederick Steiger of Saskatchewan.

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     Since he came to the Dominion from Scotland in 1926, J.W.G. Macdonald has devoted much of his efforts to the interpretation of glaciers, mountain plateaus and rugged coasts. His scenes of Indian life and his abstract paintings have figured frequently in exhibitions at the Gallery where his "Burial at Nootka" is regarded as one of the finest examples of Canadian art in the permanent collection.

"DRYING HERRING ROE"
     The Macdonald painting acquired by this well-known business corporation is entitled "Drying Herring Roe." The canvas depicts in a bold design and with striking colors the Nootka Indians' way of curing herring's eggs for winter food. The picture was included in the 1938 exhibition at the Tate Gallery, London, of "A Century of Canadian Art."

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     After the purchase of one of the paintings of William P. Weston, A.R.C.A., by Her Royal Highness the Princess Alice during the recent visit to Vancouver, this distinguished local artist has received anothr honor. His large painting "Yesterday, Today and Forever," suggesting the ageless grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, also has been purchased by the I.B.M.
     Coming to Canada from England in 1909, Mr. Weston became art director in the Vancouver public schools and later art master of the Provincial Normal School. He has been a frequent exhibitor in the Art Gallery and the National Gallery.
     Along with the painting by J.W.G. Macdonald, his picture will form part of the collection of 103 paintings from Canada, the United States and Latin America in this year's Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto. The collection is scheduled to be seen early next winter at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

PORTRAIT PURCHASED
     The portrait of Mary Capilano by Nan Lawson Cheney, well-known North Vancouver artist, has been purchased by Alan Plaunt of Ottawa. This was the last, and perhaps the finest, portrait of the venerable Indian lady whose recent death marked the passing of a characterful figure of the city. The picture was much admired when exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
     Watercolors by J.G. Nilan now showing at the gallery contain interesting passages of color which recall at times the warmth and contrasts of Renoir.
     While lacking somewhat in force and concentration in a main motif the sketches have charm and character, as in "Fisherman's Wash, Sunbury," and "Near Eagle Harbor, West Vancouver."
     Mr. Nilan's successful handling of trees is shown in "Tree Study" and "Water Killed Timber, Alouette Lake."



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