Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
17 December 2019 Vol 4 No 26 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2019
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Two months ago, I started combing through bookstores and publishers' websites looking for new books about art. What a pleasant adventure!
This is the third time Galleries West has put together an annual art books issue, and it has become one of my favourite projects.
After singling out books that seem particularly interesting, I hire writers to look at them in more detail.
This year, Vancouver contributor John Thomson reviews at E.J. Hughes Paints British Columbia by Victoria’s Robert Amos, while Sarah Swan, who is based in Yellowknife, tackles two books with a literary spin: Many Lives Mark This Place by Ontario painter John Hartman and The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings.
Ottawa arts writer Paul Gessell wanted to write about Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, a recent catalogue from the National Gallery of Canada. He was surprised to learn that Canada’s first Impressionist painter was a woman, Frances Jones.
Publisher Tom Tait spotted an intriguing project by Calgary curator Lisa Christensen that combines art history with hiking in the Rockies. Reviewer Steven Ross Smith, a poet based in Banff, declares Christensen to be “the perfect guide” for Truth and Beauty in the Canadian Rockies: An Explorer’s Guide to the Art of Walter J. Phillips.
We also asked a new-to-us Métis writer based in Victoria, Patricia Rawson, to write about one of this year's many books about Indigenous artists. She was excited to spend time with Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket, by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson.
For the first art books issue in 2017, I spent time interviewing people in the Canadian publishing industry to learn more about their strategies on art books. They talked about the small niche and the challenges of achieving even narrow profit margins.
In 2018, I compiled a comprehensive list of that year's art books. Encouraged by the 472 likes the feature received, I used the same approach for this year's list. In all my exploring, I’ve never seen anything similar, so I think it is a useful service for art lovers. (If you know of someone else doing this research, please let me know!)
Of course, the list is not perfect. We sometimes hear about new books too late to include them and there are probably other books we don’t hear about at all. As well, we rarely include small catalogues produced by galleries. If you're interested in a particular artist, you often can find these publications through the alphabetical listings at ABC Art Books Canada, a Montreal distribution centre.
Considering the extra time we put into this issue, it’s very much a labour of love. We hope you enjoy reading it.
I'm always happy to hear from readers. Why not let us know about your favourite books in the comments section below?
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Paul Gessell, Patricia Rawson, Steven Ross Smith, Sarah Swan, John Thomson