The varied land and seascapes around Victoria have provided inspiration to artists for hundreds of years. Can you identify where these locales are in the paintings, drawings and photographs below from the AGGV Collection?
Category: AGGV Collection
The Great Reveal: Restoration of a Sophie Pemberton Masterpiece
By Duncan M. Ferguson, AGGV Exhibitions Preparator
Details in the emblematic portrait of Bibi La Purée will be visible for the first time in decades. Sophie Pemberton’s portrait of Bibi La Purée hasn’t been fit for exhibition in decades. There are few artworks that represent so much of an artist, but this one weaves a web of significance into one painting.
Artist In Our Collection: Gordon Smith (1919-2020)
By Audrey Wang, AGGV Volunteer
The centenarian and beloved BC-based artist and philanthropist, Gordon Appelbe Smith, worked prolifically up until he turned 100. The AGGV is fortunate to have many of Smith’s artworks that document his West Coast aesthetic. This body of works also serves as a profound testament to the art movements of the 20th century in Western Canada.
Wild Ceramics from the AGGV’s Collection
By Marina DiMaio, AGGV Marketing Assistant
In our ongoing celebration of the AGGV’s striking ceramics collection, we searched high and low for some of our wildest ceramics. Get ready to discover some of the incredibly inventive ways the artists in our collection have reimagined and reinvigorated this essential, and innately transformable, material, of earth and water – taking us “back to the land”, through “the ills of the city”, and far off into the future!
The Spring Flower Count in the AGGV Collection
At the Art Gallery, we have a flower count from our vast art collection. How many varieties can you name in the artworks in this article? Take our quiz and scroll down to the end for the answers!
10 Things to Know About the Northwest Aesthetic & Symbology
When the print media became a preferred medium for many First Nations artists, the artists practicing in the Northwest Coast developed a distinctive aesthetic culture that grew over the past 60 years. This is what is generally termed Coast Salish art.
A Study of Grecian Votive Figurines in the AGGV
By Graham C. Braun and Jacob M. Engstrom, UVic Students
The authors are trench supervisors with the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project, UVic’s archaeological excavation at ancient Eleon in Boeotia, Greece and are currently engaged in a study of the AGGV’s lead votive figurines from the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, near Sparta, in the region of Laconia, Greece.
AGGV Collections Team & Travelling Shows
With the recent opening of To Talk With Others, organized by the Yukon Arts Centre, the AGGV Collections team discusses the challenges and processes that go into a travelling exhibition.
Art and Activism: Q&A with Persimmon Blackbridge
Persimmon Blackbridge is an innovative Canadian artist, writer, and activist, who rocked Vancouver in the early 80’s with ground-breaking works exploring lesbian sexual politics, disability culture and mental health.
Artist In Our Collection: Takao Tanabe
Tanabe devoted much of his time advocating for recognition of artists’ contributions to Canadian life. His tireless canvassing and campaigning came to fruition in 2000 with the setting up of several awards and himself winning the Governor General’s Award in 2003.
Artist In Our Collection: Paraskeva Clark
The AGGV is honoured to have in its collection a painting by the prominent female artist Paraskeva Clark. Executed in 1948, the watercolour depicts one of the artist’s favourite summer locales of Georgian Bay. It also marks a period of proliferation in her artistic output when her travels to nearby scenic spots allowed her to paint more landscapes.
Birdwatching in the AGGV Collection
Calling all you birders! Not only can birdwatching be done through binoculars or telescopes, by listening for bird sounds or watching public webcams, but it can also be done through browsing the AGGV collection with a naked eye. Can you guess what kind of birds are depicted below?
Alistair Bell’s West Coast Imagery
The maritime history of the Pacific Northwest and the connection to these waters endure in the cities and towns along the coasts, and there are an endless amount of artworks through the centuries that celebrate the culture of seafaring in these parts.