Online Teacher Resources on Canadian Art

Preparing for your visit

1. Painting and Exhibiting Different Genres 
   The Canadian collection contains a wide variety of paintings from the beginning of life in New France to the present day. To prepare your students, why not study the different genres in painting and introduce new vocabulary words? The word “genre” in this context refers to the major categories of subject matter that artists tend to paint. The major genres are portrait, still life, landscape, scenes from everyday life (also called genre scenes), narrative painting and abstract painting. Throughout the history of Canadian painting, you will find a variety of genres, although different genres dominate different periods in history. Abstract painting is a very recent genre that began to be practised in the early twentieth century.

   Make a list of the defining characteristics for each genre using examples from Canadian painting. Divide your class into six teams and assign each team one of the genres mentioned above. You may also choose to have each team pick a genre out of a hat. Each student then creates a painting in the genre their team has drawn. Exhibit the paintings in the hallway of your school, along with “explanatory panels” about each genre. Students may also write a label for their work, indicating the title, artist’s name, the medium used and a short description of important aspects in the approach used to create the painting.

   James Wilson Morrice (1865-1924) Portrait of Maude About 1912-1913 Oil, graphite on wood 17 x 13.5 cm MMFA, F. Eleanore Morrice Bequest 1981.72		Ludger Larose Montreal 1868 - Montreal 1915 Still Life About 1898 Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard 32.4 x 40.6 cm Purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest 1996.16
   Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté (1869-1937) March Thaw, Gosselin River 1921 Oil on canvas 73 x 92.7 cm MMFA, gift of the artist 1931.628		Paul Peel (1860-1892) The Spinner 1881 Oil on canvas 119.6 x 91.4 cm MMFA, gift of William G. Murray 1882.138
   Théophile Hamel (1817–1870) The Daughters of Jethro After 1838 Oil on canvas 120 x 105 cm MMFA, purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest 1982.7		Pierre Gauvreau (born in 1922) Warning to the “Pauèzes” 1947 Oil on plywood 46 x 40.6 cm MMFA, purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest © Pierre Gauvreau / SODRAC (2010) 2002.263.1-2

    

2. Activities from Yesterday; Activities Today; Activities Tomorrow? 
   Many works in our Canadian collection illustrate activities that were done in the past and, because of advances in science and technology, are either seldom performed today or altogether obsolete. Take a look at the images of works from our collection shown below. Before refrigerators came into use in the home, large blocks of ice were cut to put in ice-boxes to keep food fresh. There was a time when you could see only sailing ships in Montreal Harbour and horses with carriages and street cars were the method of transport for inner city wanderings. Why would someone be shredding fabric? In the early days, worn-out clothing was often used to make rugs, but these rags had to be shredded before they could be braided, woven or hooked into rugs.

   With your class, come up with activities that we do nowadays that would not have been done in the past. How were these activities done in the past? For instance, the telephone and the ubiquitous cell phone: how did people communicate with others at a distance? They wrote letters, of course! And they sometimes took weeks to arrive at their destination!

   Have the students think of other activities that might have been done in the past that are no longer done now. Or perhaps the students have old objects from home, such as an old egg-beater or tool that they could bring into the classroom. Have them do research on the Internet. Then, have them draw the old objects or the obsolete activities that they’ve come up with.

   Are there activities that we do now that will be obsolete in the future? Think about it!

   Horatio Walker (1858-1938) The Ice Cutters 1904 Oil on canvas 60 x 91.5 cm MMFA, gift of Mrs. F. S. Smithers in memory of Charles Francis Smithers 1941.736		Henry Sandham (1842–1910) Evening on the Wharf or Montreal Harbour 1868 Oil on canvas 45.8 x 57.5 cm MMFA, gift of Mrs. J. Campbell Merrett 1999.10
   Adrien Hébert (1890-1967) Hyman’s Tobacco Store 1937 Oil on canvas 81.3 x 100.96 cm MMFA, purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest 1975.4		Alfred Laliberté (1878–1953) Shredding Fabric 1928-1932 Plaster 35 cm (h.) MMFA, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Pager 1986.23

 

3. Study Aboriginal Culture, Past and Present
   The Museum has a collection of Inuit and Amerindian art that will offer you glimpses of a traditional way of life that has changed drastically in contemporary times. Study the different native groups of North America and consider how lifestyles have changed for them over the centuries.

   By looking at art that shows everyday traditional activities and customs, we can more easily imagine a way of life that is long gone or on its way out. We can also reflect on and ask questions about what we see in the art. For instance the Inuit today rarely build igloos or use dogsleds, but these activities are frequently represented in their sculptures. Do Inuit artists also show contemporary activities in their art? Is there a reason why we more often see traditional activities represented? Artists such as Paul Kane, Cornelius Krieghoff and Emily Carr painted representations of natives and their ways of life. Were these true-to-life or somewhat romanticized versions?

   Native and Inuit culture is rich in mythology. Look into their myths and belief systems and see how these are represented in their art.

   Markusi Nunngaq Kuannanaaq (born in 1932) Untitled (Nursing Mother by a “Qulliq,” Inuit Oil Lamp) About 1968 Steatite 34 x 43.2 x 24.5 cm MMFA, gift of Lois and Daniel Miller 2005.115

    

   Mother and child scenes and family activities are important themes in Inuit art. Would the qulliq (Inuit oil lamp) still be used in contemporary life? Do we still use oil lamps and candles?

   Paul Kane (1810-1871) Caw-Wacham About 1848 Oil on canvas 75.7 x 63.2 cm MMFA, Wiliam Gilman Cheney Bequest 1947.991

    

   Paul Kane travelled extensively through western Canada and the United States and was particularly interested in native culture. Here, he has represented a woman from the Flathead tribe holding a baby in a portable cradle. The constant pressure from the headboard on the infants’ heads explains the cranial deformation seen in the adults.

   Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872) Indian Hunter and His Family 1856 Oil on canvas 45 x 66.6 cm MMFA, Mary Fry Dawson Bequest 1954.1104

    

   The Native peoples were a major theme in Krieghoff’s painting. Although the scenes depicted were sometimes idealized, they often revealed fascinating details, such as beadwork and basketry.

   Emily Carr (1871-1945) Indian War Canoe, Alert Bay 1912 Oil on panel 65 x 95.5 cm MMFA, gift of A. Sidney Dawes 1948.995

    

   Emily Carr did many images of the customs and ways of life of the Northwest Coast native peoples. According to a note on the back of this painting, the canoe was painted during a potlatch near Alert Bay on an island near the mainland and the north of Vancouver Island. Potlatches were occasions celebrating significant events in a family or a community. They could be quite elaborate and were celebrated by most Northwest Coast native groups.

   Kenojuak Ashevak (born in 1927) The Enchanted Owl 1960 Stonecut 43/50 61.1 x 66 cm MMFA, purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest Reproduced courtesy of Dorset Fine Arts Gr.1961.100

    

   Kenojuak Ashevak was a pioneer printmaker in Cape Dorset. She often represents birds in her imagery. This owl, with its fanciful encircling feathers, suggests the bird’s ability and power to survive the long, dark winter days.

   NORTHWEST COAST, ALASKA Kaigani Haida or Tlingit Crest Helmet Late 19th-early 20th c. Wood, copper, nails, cotton, deerskin, pigment 25 x 23.8 x 55.5 cm MMFA, purchase, gift of F. Cleveland Morgan 1946.Ab.3

    

   Headwear such as this could be worn during a ritual occasion like a potlatch. In this example, the Raven, thought to be the creator of mankind, is perched atop a fish. The First Nations of the West Coast are often called the People of the Totem because of the large carved poles that they would erect in their villages.

 

4. From Realism to Abstraction
   Our Canadian galleries trace the history of Canadian art from early portraits and landscapes of the 1700s to the bold abstractions of the 1950s and 1960s. First of all, introduce the concept of abstraction: a work is called abstract when it departs from an accurate representation of nature. There are varying degrees of abstraction. In Canadian artist Michael Snow’s work, we can still recognize elements from our daily lives. Artists like Snow simplify or elaborate on the forms present in the world around them. In his painting below, he uses the simplified profile of a walking woman as a repeated motif. Other artists like Pierre Gauvreau, whose painting you can see above, or Jean-Paul Riopelle, whose work you can see below, compose their painting with shapes, colours and textures with no reference to concrete, objective reality. Paintings like these are sometimes called non-objective paintings.

   Study the rise of abstraction in art in Europe, from the early years of the twentieth century with artists like Malevich and Kandinsky, to contemporary artists who still practise some form of abstraction to this day. Then look at the rise of abstraction in Canadian art. Discuss your findings in non-judgemental language.

   Michael Snow (born in 1929) Four Grey Panels and Four Figures From the series “Walking “Woman” 1963 Oil on canvas 52.4 x 50.5 cm (approx each panel) MMFA, purchase, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Volunteer Association Fund and Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest 2005.97.1-4		Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) Gravity 1956 Oil on canvas 300 x 200 cm MMFA, gift of Yseult Riopelle © Estate of Jean-Paul Riopelle / SODRAC (2010) 2005.134

Follow-up activities