A Vital Force: The Canadian Group of Painters - Softcover

Boutliier, Alicia; Hudson, Anna; Home, Heather; Jansma, Linda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1553392647 ISBN 13: 9781553392644

Publisher: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 2013

Synopsis

Founded in 1933 in reaction to the established view of the Group of Seven as the national art of Canada, this diverse group of progressive young artists was the first to aspire to cross-Canada representation of modernist art. Yet the Canadian Group of Painters (CGP) has not entered popular lexicon as did its famous predecessor. This publication sheds new light on the artistic and social impact of the CGP in the first and most dynamic decades of its existence, from 1933 to 1953. Forty-eight paintings by forty-eight key members convey the richness of the group's practice: new visions of landscape, bold depictions of people and fresh experiments in abstraction. In contrast to the Group of Seven, the Canadian Group of Painters was engaged with modern life during the turbulent times of the Depression, World War II and postwar reconstruction thereby making it a vital force. Artists include Jack Bush, Emily Carr, Paraskeva Clark, Lawren S. Harris, E. J. Hughes, Jack Humphrey, Prudence Heward, Jock Macdonald, David Milne, Lilias Torrance Newton, Goodridge Roberts and Marian Dale Scott. Three essays consider the significance and contribution of the CGP from academic, archival and curatorial perspectives. Interwoven among the essays are detailed examinations of specific works. Magnificently illustrated, this publication brings to light one of the most important artistic groups in twentieth-century Canadian art.

About this edition

• Publisher: Agnes Etherington Art Centre
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1553392647
• ISBN 13: 9781553392644
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 137