Emily Carr (1871-1945) is one of Canada’s most renowned artists. I am embarrassed to say that I’d never heard of her until I stumbled upon a permanent collection of her work at the Vancouver Art Gallery a few years ago. I’m so glad I did. It keeps me coming back.
She was a native of Victoria, British Columbia, and is best known for her paintings of the forests of Vancouver Island, as well as the totems of the First Nations people of the area. When I look at her work, I see lush greenery, and the type of natural majesty one only sees in Canada. Clearly, she had a deep and abiding love for the natural world.
Her paintings make you feel tiny, a little bit nervous, and yet somehow welcome at the same time. You can almost smell the fresh air and feel the moisture on your skin. You want to explore.
I encourage you to check out her full body of work, but below are some teasers to whet your appetite.
Deep Woods, 1936 oil on paper 89.6 x 59.6 cm The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Gift of Flora Hamilton Burns and Patricia Keir in memory of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gavin Hamilton Burns 1994.055.005
The paintings feel a little van Goghish to me. Beautiful!
Yeah, they do, kind of. 🙂
I get even more of a sense of Paul Gauguin, his tropical paintings.
I had never heard of her, either, though I grew up here in Seattle. We never studied anything about Canada! I remember that in school we studied Mexico, maybe because it was thought to be more interesting and exotic! About ten years ago in my Wedgwood neighborhood history projects, I learned that there was a house in the neighborhood which was built as partly a copy of the Emily Carr house: https://wedgwoodinseattlehistory.com/2012/06/11/a-victorian-in-wedgwood/
Wow, that’s interesting! Thanks Valarie!