Northern Passage: The Arctic Voyages
of A.Y. Jackson, Lawren S. Harris
and Frederick Banting
Art Gallery of Alberta
Edmonton AB Jun 10-Sep 10, 2006
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Maurice Haycock, A.Y. Jackson (2nd from left, standing) and Dr. Federick Banting (with pipe next to George P. MacKenzie, leader of the Canadian Government Arctic Expedition) with group on board the SS Beothic (1927), photograph [Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Jun 10-Sept 10] Photo: National Achives of Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs
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In Northern Passage: The Arctic Voyages of A.Y. Jackson, Lawren S. Harris and Frederick Banting, the Art Gallery of Alberta explores the relationship of early paintings and drawings by A.Y. Jackson to those created by Frederick Banting and Lawren S. Harris during their travels to the Arctic. In 1927, Alexander Young Jackson travelled for six weeks aboard the Beothic, an RCMP supply steamer, with fellow artist and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Frederick Banting. During the trip, Jackson, an early member and leading advocate of the Group of Seven, reaffirmed his appreciation for the northern landscape and, together with Banting, a commitment to revealing the breadth and beauty of Canada.
Maurice Haycock, A.Y. Jackson Sketching on the Ice (1927), photograph [Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Jun 10-Sept 10] Photo courtesy of the National Achives of Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs
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On a subsequent voyage in 1930, Jackson and Harris – another powerful member of the Group of Seven – began to grow apart philosophically. Harris’ work became more abstract and modernist, while Jackson’s vision became more post-impressionist and nationalistic. Three years after the second voyage, the Group of Seven separated. They were the first group of artists to paint the scenery and spirit of Canada, once considered by European immigrants to be too rough and visually harsh to inspire pictorial beauty.
Northern Passage draws from the collections of museums, archives and private collectors for sketches, canvasses, photographs, film and other archival materials. The voyages are equally important historically for the presence of the RCMP and Canadian Government in northern Canada. The exhibit is guest-curated by Andrew Hunter and presented with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage Museums Assistance Program.
www.artgalleryalberta.com
Mia Johnson
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A.Y. Jackson, Arctic (1931), oil on canvas [Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Jun 10-Sept 10] Photo: TD BANK Financial Group, courtesy of the Jackson estate
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Maurice Haycock, Dr. Fredrick Banting on board the SS Beothic (1927), photograph [Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Jun 10-Sept 10] Photo: National Achives of Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs
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Lawren S. Harris, Mount Thule, Bylot Island (1930), oil on canvas [Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Jun 10-Sept 10] Photo: Collection of the Ottawa Art Gallery, fac 0406
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