EARLY CANADIAN MASTERPIECES EXHIBITION
Saturday, November 30, 2024 - February 1, 2025

The consignment of a major collection of early watercolours spurred the decision to mount a major retrospective exhibition of Early Canadian Masterpieces, with the addition of works collected by us over many decades. Spanning the century between 1825 and 1925, this exhibition represents major early artists committed to capturing the lifestyle and landscape of early Indigenous and pioneer life across Canada. Many of these early artists immigrated from Europe and received artistic training, some received little training. Many artists travelled across the country before the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, later at the invitation of Van Horne as part of the Railway Artists documenting the opening of the Canadian West. These artists developed a unique style of Canadian landscape painting.

Join us on a journey through early Canadian art history. The exhibition will be posted online and available to view in the gallery on Tuesday, November 26. Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, November 30 from 1-4 pm.

William (Bill) Ronald Reid (Canadian 1920-1998)

The Bear Mother & The Dogfish Woman From The Spirit Of Haida Gwaii
pair of cast bronze sculptures, edition 3/9, bears signature, factory  stamp and edition "© Bill Reid 1986-91 III/IX TX"
Size: The Dogfish Woman 33 ½ x 30 ⅜ x 38 ⅙ in | The Bear Mother 27 ½ x 23 ½ x 34 ¼ in
Exhibitions:
Buschlen Mowatt Gallery 1993-1996
National Museum of Singapore
Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale 2005-2007

NORTHWESTCOAST COLLECTION OF PHIL NUYTTEN

UBC LIBRARY'S RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

The donation of the Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs to the University of British Columbia Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections consists of more than 22,000 images from over 80 albums. This collection includes extensive coverage of B.C. from the 1850s to the 1950s and includes photographs in a wide variety of formats and genres including albums, diaries, portraits, landscapes and city/townscapes.

Images from the collection are being digitized on an ongoing basis. Library users will be able to request items from the physical collection through UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections.

“Royal BC Museum acquires rare painting from B.C.’s first professional Black painter.” - written by Elizabeth McSheffrey for Global News

It’s the newest gem in the Royal BC Museum’s collection of more than 10,500 works of art — a painting of the Victoria Harbour, made in 1883 by Grafton Tyler Brown.

The museum is celebrating its acquisition of Entrance to the Harbour as part of Black History Month. It was one of Brown’s few works while he lived in the city.

Brown is widely considered to be the first professional Black painter in B.C.

“As far as we know, to date, Grafton was the first Black artist to paint an exhibit here in Victoria and in the province of B.C.,” Royal BC Museum art and images curator India Young said.

“What is interesting about Brown is that over the course of his travels, he really shifted his identity.”