| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
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Fittingly to usher in the second year of the Vancouver Art Gallery's
existence, the attraction there for the beginning of this winter has been an
"All British Columbian exhibition" of paintings and sculpture. The works
selected by the selection committee number 160 or about half of the total submitted. In the
circumstances, it is high praise to say that the show as a whole is in quality
quite on a par with those staged every spring by the Montreal Art Association,
the main purpose of which was to afford amateurs and students the stimulus and gratification
of seeing their works publicly displayed in senior company. To effect this necessarily implies
the adoption by hanging committees of an attitude of amiable leniency. So long, of course,
as the reason for the compromise is understood and accepted, the plan is at least innocuous, and
indeed may have its advantages and compensations. Clearly, that was the view of the
Vancouver Selection Committee in the present instance. But while this first "All British
Columbia" exhibition may be characterized by inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness, it
nevertheless presents quite convincing evidence of the development of what may be defined
as a distinctly healthy art movement in this Western province. For the past few years very important inspirational influences have been at work. Of these, the chief stimulant has come from the School of Applied and Decorative Art, founded some eight years ago, whose teaching methods on broader lines than those more commonly followed by academic institutions aim to develop rather than deaden such inherent creative powers as the student may possess. Nor should the helpful part played by the National Gallery remain unrecorded. In enabling the West, through periodical exhibitions, to become familiar with the more distinguished work that is being done by painters in Eastern Canada, and in sending us so inspiring a missionary as Mr. Arthur Lismer to spread the gospel of art to spur us to effort and emulation, the authorities in Ottawa deserve our thanks. It is remarkable how, in consequence, within a comparatively short time, sentiment has changed towards contemporary creative Canadian painting. Not long since the attitude was predominantly hostile, now at any rate, especially among the younger, as well as among the more liberal-minded of the older, generation, there is beginning to be both understanding and appreciation. Who, for example, would have believed, say, five year ago, that a responsible body of citizens acting for a civic gallery would deliberately acquire for its permanent collection an A.Y. Jackson? Yet, that actually was done recently to the great contentment of many. Finally the Vancouver gallery itself, which during the first year of its existence has attracted no less than 112,000 visitors, has already exerted an enlightening influence that is likely to grow with the years. Among British Columbian painters two already enjoy international reputation. Of these, Emily Carr is a native-born daughter of Victoria and a creative artist of more than ordinary power, whose more recent work, no longer faithfully realistic, but consisting of subjective interpretations both colorful and sculptural in effect, synthesizes more completely perhaps than has yet been done those dramatic attributes of the Pacific Slope scenes, which the native Indians were the first to discern in their surroundings and to record in their carvings and folk-lore. We are no less proud to claim as a British Columbian artist, F.H. Varley, formerly of Toronto, and a distinguished member of the Group of Seven. Apart from his accomplishments as a painter, he has been a great acquisition as a teacher of painting in the Art School. He is represented in the present exhibition by the large canvas "Dharama" (sic). Rather low in tone, with a color scheme of greeny-mauves and gold, this picture in character and sentiment so sombre, intense, and mystical, contrasts strikingly with the majority of those clear-cut landscapes in high key and reverberating color that he painted in northern Ontario. This is no fortuitous difference or one merely ascribable to a temporary mood. It goes deeper than that, and signifies essentially the surrender of the artist to the influences and conditions imposed by the change in his environment. The discovery that the landscape of Northern Ontario could be be interpreted by bold and brilliantly colorful decorative designs, involving the sacrifice of atmospheric qualities, by no means implies that this method can be applied to the same purpose by painters on the Pacific Slope where humid conditions prevail, and atmosphere in consequence becomes a consideration of predominant importance in influencing both effect and sentiment. It is well that this should be noted, since there is a growing and deplorable tendency on the part of some western painters to imitate the method and manner and adopt illogically the formulas of certain eastern landscapists of the modern school with whom they would claim kinship if not equality. For the artist British Columbia is a rich and virgin field. It beckons the pioneer of the type of the discoverers of Northern Ontario and of the habitant country of Quebec. There is no room for imitators. With the exception of Miss Carr and Max Maynard, of Victoria, who is doing very individual work both in color and black-and-white, nearly all our present painters of any distinction are also teachers. They include Charles H. Scott, the Director of the Art School, J.W.G. Macdonald, the teacher of design in the same institution, W.P. Weston, art instructor at the Vancouver Normal School, and a few others. The only sculptor is Charles Marega. In addition some of the graduates of the school, notably Vera Weatherbie, Fred Amess, and Irene Hoffar show great promise, and their work has already been well perceived at exhibitions in Eastern Canada. An outstanding picture at this month's exhibition is Mr. Scott's pleine air "Alfresco". It is painted with freedom and breadth, is soundly ordered and has a fine feeling of out-of-doors and sunshine. The brilliant orange vermilion of the shawl on which the figures rest is a joyous note to which the cool greens of the background and the blue dress of the sitting figure are harmoniously keyed. It is a sincere and successful piece of work. Mr. Macdonald's "The Black Tusk, Garibaldi Park" is a courageous attempt to tackle a difficult problem, and as such is deserving of attention. The plaster bust by Charles Marega of the late Bernard McEvoy memorializes that doyen of Canadian journalists, who died in harness last year at the ripe age of over 90 in the service of the Vancouver Daily Province. He was a man greatly beloved, he took a great interest in art, and was indeed one of the founders and the first president of the B.C. Art League whose two main objectives were the establishement of a civic art school and of a civic art gallery. Both these aims he lived to see fulfilled. |