NewsObituaries
Canadian Modernist painter Gordon Smith has died, aged 100
The Vancouver-based artist, one of the last of a generation that shaped the city’s mid-century cultural scene, was known for his monumental abstract canvases inspired by nature
NewsVenice Biennale 2021
Stan Douglas to represent Canada at 2021 Venice Biennale
The multimedia artist’s sci-fi epic Doppelgänger from the last international exhibition is due to be shown in New York and London this month
NewsPrizes
Stephanie Comilang claims Canada’s Sobey Art Award
The Toronto- and Berlin-based artist expressed relief after winning C$100,000 contemporary art prize: "I don’t have to worry financially now"
NewsMontreal Museum of Fine Arts
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts offers ‘a contemporary gaze’ at ancient objects in a new wing
Museum will juxtapose archaeological finds with recent pieces in an “Art of One World” gallery
PreviewExhibitions
‘Extraordinary’ Rubens show opens at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto
The blockbuster exhibition gathers early works by the Flemish master from museums in North America and Europe
NewsPrizes
Canada’s largest art prize, the Sobey Art Award, heads west
An exhibition of the shortlisted artists is now on view at Edmonton’s Art Gallery of Alberta
PreviewBiennials & festivals
The first Toronto Biennial takes a long view of human relations
Among the highlights of the city-wide exhibition is a “panoramic pantomime” of Cook’s Pacific expeditions by the New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana
NewsObituaries
Vancouver street photographer Fred Herzog has died, age 88
The German-born Canadian captured a view of the city that has since been lost, but he did not receive major recognition until late in life
NewsPublic art
Vancouver mural memorialises First Nations’ aide to stranded Indian immigrants
The work was unveiled as the name of a Conservative politician behind the Komagata Maru incident was removed from the federal building on which it is painted
NewsArt market
Contested export of a Caillebotte painting raises questions about Canadian cultural law
A Canadian court recently overturned a ruling on the "national importance" of the French Impressionist's work, sold at Heffel Auction House in 2016
News
Multi-million-dollar Matisse fails to find a buyer at Toronto auction
The French Modern master’s oil painting Femme assise sur un balcon was withdrawn from a Canadian sale after bidding stalled below the reserve price
NewsMuseums & Heritage
The kids are alright: Art Gallery of Ontario offers free admission for visitors 25 and under, and reduced yearly passes for all
The Canadian institution aims to double its membership and expand its audience with one-year pilot programme
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Canadian Museums Association launches $1m programme to recognise indigenous culture
The initiative is part of a broader reconciliation effort by the government
PreviewExhibitions
Ai Weiwei show brings out tensions between Canada and China
Survey at Gardiner Museum ranges from artist’s broken Han Dynasty urn to zodiac signs
NewsMuseums & Heritage
After a decade of delays, Vancouver Art Gallery gets $40m boost for new building
The local philanthropic Chan family has reinvigorated the long-awaited expansion with an “unprecedented” gift
NewsArt market
Record set in Canada for Nobel Prize-winning doctor and artist Frederick Banting
A painting of the University of Toronto lab where he co-discovered insulin goes for ten times its high estimate in Toronto
NewsAuctions
Nobel Prize-winning doctor’s painting of the lab where he discovered insulin goes on sale in Toronto
Dr Frederick Banting wanted to take up art full-time, but he was killed in a plane crash during the Second World War
NewsPrizes
Kapwani Kiwanga takes home the Sobey Art award
Canada’s top prize for artists under 40 was doubled this yearto C$100,000
News
MoCA Toronto set to open in new industrial home that hosts both art and artists
New works by Barbara Kruger, Tania Bruguera and Awol Erizku will be presented in Canadian museum's first year
NewsSocial history
Canada struggles with monuments tied to colonialism
Echoing a conflict in the US, the nation contends with calls to remove controversial memorials
NewsPublic art
How a chain-link mosque at the Vancouver Biennale became a community hub
Saudi artist Ajlan Gharem's installation stands as an example of cultural exchange as diplomatic tensions break out between Canada and Saudi Arabia
NewsArtists
Art installation in Canada helps rebuild burnt-out library in Iraq
A project at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto challenges the public to help restore a Baghdad art college’s collection
NewsArt theft
Banksy print snatched from Toronto show
The work Trolley Hunters went missing during the set up for the ‘unauthorised’ exhibition
NewsControversies
Once bitten, twice shy: Canadian artist caught using comedians' photos without permission promises no more funny business
Despite controversy over public art project in Calgary, Derek Michael Besant has been commissioned to create a similar work in Ottawa
NewsAuctions
Tom Thomson sketch hidden in Canadian basement sells for C$480,000 at auction, more than double its high estimate
The work’s owner, a retired nurse, chose not to attend the sale in person due to nerves “in case it was worth something”
NewsAuctions
Stored in a basement, Canadian woman’s painting turns out to be Tom Thomson sketch
The work is due to be auctioned in Toronto with a high estimate of $135,000—and will fund a Mediterranean cruise for the owner and her friend
NewsConservation & Preservation
Canada’s 1950s Venice Biennale pavilion gets a facelift
The upgrade to the Modernist building and its surrounding landscape has resulted in a new visitor route planned for the Giardini
NewsDeaccessioning
Anonymous donor steps in to pay hefty penalty for the National Gallery of Canada’s botched Chagall sale
The rushed deaccessioning—to fund the acquisition of another work from neighbouring Quebec—raised a storm of criticism
NewsExhibitions
Douglas Coupland’s work in plastic is fantastic
The writer and artist unveils an ecological work inspired by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and a 3D-printed national portrait of Canada
News
Ottawa Art Gallery grows five times bigger in time for its 30th birthday
The free-entry museum of Canadian art was initially scheduled to be completed last year
PreviewExhibitions
The emperor strikes back: Montreal show revisits the splendour and romanticism of Napoleon’s court
More than a display of splendour, the exhibition examines how the court functioned as an institution of propaganda, shaping and promoting images of imperial power
BlogIn the frame
Trippy travel and friendly felines at the Aga Khan
AnalysisAmerican art
Native American artists garner recognition—at last
US and Canadian institutions are rethinking their approach to contemporary indigenous art
NewsVenice Biennale 2019
Canada announces first presentation of Inuit art for 2019 Venice Biennale
Video collective Isuma will tell story of indigenous culture in Canadian pavilion
NewsMonuments
Canada’s first national Holocaust memorial opens in Ottawa
Daniel Libeskind-designed monument in concrete and metal has the shape of a distorted Star of David
CommentSocial history
Statues are part of history, but do a poor job of recording it
Matthew Sears is professor of classics and ancient history, University of New Brunswick
Matthew Sears