Joseph Sidney Hallam, The Ploughman, c.1943.
Silkscreen images of Canadian landscapes, intended to remind Second World War troops of home, are now central to an exhibit at the University of Calgary's Founders' Gallery at the Military Museums.
"It's not what you expect of war art, those depictions of the front line, but something very different," Lindsey Sharman, curator of the Founders' Gallery, said in an interview.
Legendary artist A.Y. Jackson launched the idea in 1942, and pursued it with A.J. Casson, a fellow member of the Group of Seven collective of artists. The artists recruited such peers as Emily Carr, Tom Thomson and Lawren Harris for the effort supported by corporate sponsorship, the National Gallery and the Department of National Defence.
"For most of the soldiers, it was their first experience with Canadian art and contemporary art," says Ms. Sharman, noting galleries back then tended to be in large urban centres, so not always accessible to many.
Also, the serene landscapes were a reminder to military personnel that Canadians, at home, were thinking of them.
The exhibit features 98 pieces, reflecting a silkscreen tradition that ended up lingering until 1963 for display in schools, libraries and other public buildings. "It visualized for Canadians what Canada looked like," says Ms. Sharman. "It contributed to our ideas of national identity." The display is half wartime and half post-war art. Most pieces are on loan from the Pegasus Gallery of Canadian Art on Salt Spring Island, B.C.
The exhibit, Barracks To Banks: Canadian Silkscreens for War and Peace, runs until January, 2016. The gallery is located at 4520 Crowchild Trail SW.
Ian Bailey