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Emily Carr: To the Totem Forests

Emily Carr found personal and artistic sanctuary in remote First Nations villages along the coast of British Columbia. During a period of more than 40 years, she visited, wrote about, drew and painted village-scapes, totem poles, canoes, house fronts and, occasionally, people. Historic photographs taken by Richard Maynard at the same time and from the same perspectives offer fascinating clues to Carr’s interpretation. The photographs indicate the extent to which Carr used them as subject or aide memoir while later reworking her field sketches.

Carr’s contemporaries, including Walter J. Phillips, A.Y. Jackson, Langdon Kihn, Edwin Holgate and George Pepper, sketched and painted many of the same scenes. Their works — included in this exhibition — provide an intriguing contrast to Carr’s interpretations.