A stunning place! Gorgeous setting (which we will have to explore properly when we live here); fabulous collection of the work of Canadian artists; an exhibition of industrial images and portraits by Yousuf Karsh, one of the most important portrait photographers of the twentieth century; and ‘Challenging Traditions: contemporary first nations art of the northwest coast’, a temporary exhibition which opened yesterday.
We both particularly liked the work of Lawren S Harris, much of whose work depicts landscapes from the north shore of Lake Superior (we are currently on the southern shore of Lake Huron in Georgian Bay – lake Superior is to the North West), tapping into ‘a realm of life between our mundane world and the world of the spirit’ (Harris’s own definition of art).
We also thoroughly enjoyed a film about Karsh, as well as both the industrial portraits (stunning combination of man and machine with wonderful light) and those of the great and good. So many of his subjects were people who we admire and, as Karsh’s aim was always to ‘reveal the mind and soul behind the likeness’, these images and the accompanying text brought many new insights.