Drawings from the Permanent Collection

Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human expression, predating the written word. It has long been considered a fundamental part of visual art education due to its exploratory nature that allows artists to experiment and refine their artistic practice. Pulling together a selection of drawings and sketches from the Permanent Collection, this exhibition offers insight into the artists’ process and presents an opportunity to celebrate these sometimes overlooked works as artworks in their own right.

The portability of drawings and sketchbooks has made it a great method for observing the world. In Yvonne McKague Housser’s Walking with a Sketchbook, Mexico (n.d.), as the title suggests, the artist traveled with her sketchbook to capture her views and experiences. Another example is A.Y. Jackson’s Close-up Study of Rocky Shore with Puddle (n.d.), a double-sided sketch, which, based on the ring holes along the side, once lived in a sketchbook.

Some of the drawings in this exhibition are examples of artists exploring the human form. Anatomical studies were common for artists to practice and refine their ability to depict the human body. Two precise and very different examples are William Blair Bruce’s more scientific drawing of the tendons in the arm in Untitled (Anatomical Studies) (n.d.), and F.S. Coburn’s Power (1891), in which he uses charcoal to get the definition of muscles and veins through shading. These types of sketches demonstrate the medium’s ability to help artists’ further study, experiment, and improve techniques.

While some of the works in this exhibition are examples of quick drawing exercises, others are preparations for paintings and prints, called studies. Take for example, Isabel McLaughlin’s Sketch for Tree (c. 1935), which is the study for a large painting that is in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada entitled Tree (1935). McLaughlin did many preparatory sketches for this painting, but this one clearly shows the decisive approach that she ended up using for the final painting.

Isabel McLaughlin (Canadian, 1903-2002), Sketch for Tree, c. 1935, charcoal on paper. Gift of the estate of Isabel McLaughlin, 2003.

Arthur Lismer (Canadian, b. England, 1885 – 1969), Study for The Happy Isles, c.1924, charcoal on paper. Gift of Charles Goldhamer, 1984.

Arthur Lismer’s Study for Happy Isles (c. 1934) is another example of a sketch in preparation for a large canvas now in the collection of the University of Saskatchewan. It shows how Lismer structured and planned the composition and spacing of the painting. The study depicts Georgian Bay, affectionately referred to as Happy Isles, and captures Lismer’s interest in detailed foregrounds with the figures on the dock.

Drawing from both life and their imagination, artists use the medium to explore and experiment. As artist Paul Klee once said: “A drawing is simply a line going for a walk.” The artworks included in this exhibition take us on a journey with the artist and show how drawings are not just simply a step in the creative process, but can be enjoyed as individual artworks in and of themselves.

We recently partnered with Dani Crosby Art on a community engagement activity in celebration of caregivers, inspired by one of our current online exhibitions, A Profession of Care. In this activity, Dani asked our audience to contribute short stories and thoughts on caregivers and the act of care giving, based on a series of writing prompts.

These stories have been collected and turned into portraits by the artist in which she has visually honoured, represented, and acknowledged the qualities and experiences of caregivers of all types. We would like to thank all those who contributed their incredibly moving and personal stories to this project.

Beginning on May 22, 2020, we will slowly reveal each of the five artworks that Dani has created and post it here on this page, as well as on our social media channels.

The artworks are available for FREE as a digital download, so please feel free to print a copy for yourself or keep a digital copy. If you would like to share the digital copy online, please ensure that proper credit is given to the artist. 

Artwork #1

Caregivers: Art Therapists/Therapists

“Art therapists and therapists give us permission and a safe space to reveal ourselves, our experiences, to untangle, to give a name to our demons and learn to live with them. They help us bring ourselves to a point of functionality where we can perform within our individual roles in a healthy and positive way. They teach us positive outlets for difficult emotions and memories. They teach us how to process experiences. We do the work. They work with us. They show us how that very hard, very important work can be done. Often that work goes unseen. That time we spend working on ourselves does not necessarily look like ‘productivity’ by broad societal standards. That time we spend working on ourselves does not always produce or present in a way that is immediately recognized. It’s not a marketable product or the ability to provide labour to a company. It is time spent growing a person, becoming the version of yourself you want to become. It gives us the tools we need to move through and contribute to different spaces and relationships: a classroom, a workplace, family bonds, friendships, platonic and romantic partnerships. If we so choose. Art Therapists and Therapists see us and help us look at ourselves until we can do so with acceptance or perhaps love instead of shame or perhaps anger.”

Artwork #2

Caregivers: Nurses

“These images were inspired not only by stories of and from Nurses but also PSWs, Paramedics, Doctors and other medical professionals. I read all of the stories sent to me by my community. I read local articles being written about medical professionals before and during the time of COVID19. I read many social media posts by individuals in our community talking about the current and broader experiences of our medical professionals. The medical professionals I connected with both directly and indirectly give so much, risk so much, each and every day.”

Artwork #3

Caregivers: Nurses

“They provide emotional care as well as physical care to their patients. They are with their patients through their worst, back to their best, into and past their final moments. They are the messengers of the good news and the news no one wants to give or receive. They maintain composure in the face of chaos, they push past their limits and work through conditions where proper support and resources are not made available. They are with us while we are at our most vulnerable and treat us with the dignity we all deserve, at all stages through our life and into our decline. Their chosen path puts them at great risk and provides them with great joy. It is a balancing act, a struggle, a calling, a role which benefits our society immensely. May we acknowledge and honour their importance during and beyond our moments of shared and individual crisis.”

Artwork #4

Caregivers: Teachers

“This image represents the cyclical flow of energy in the classroom. The constant giving of one’s self to students, the return of that energy and the struggle to reach all students. Each student had a unique personality, unique needs, unique personal circumstances. There is a need for hyper awareness and sensitivity to the impact words and actions might have on a student, each and every day. This image focuses on teachers who work with young children. But the challenges and joys illustrated here can be applied to teachers who work with any age group. Teachers extend themselves within and beyond their limits to maintain balance in the classroom, and between all the various roles in their lives. Students learn from their teachers, from each other, and teachers are constantly learning from their students. Each participant in a classroom grows together and leaves the classroom each day better equipped to navigate their own lives and participate the world around them.”

Artwork #5

Caregivers: Family and Friends

“Family are Parents, Mothers and Fathers, Siblings, Sisters, Brothers, Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Grandmas, Grandpas, partners, and friends. Family can be born into and family can be chosen. Family can be people we meet in person and in the virtual world. Family are the people who help us grow, accept us, protect us, nurture and love us.

The nude figure in the upper middle of the image represents vulnerability, need, and growth as a result of personal determination and the support from family. The figures surrounding them represent all of the people in their family. May we all find the family we deserve.”

During this time of social-distancing and, in some cases, isolation, we are watching the world go by from our windows. They are portals through which we can escape and take in the views. Windows have long been a popular motif in art, often used for their ability to convey different perspectives or emotions and to frame interior spaces. This exhibition, featuring works from the RMG’s Permanent Collection, delves into the many ways artists use windows in their work.

Because windows are frames within themselves, they can provide interesting perspectives between the inner and outer world. In Bruce Smith’s painting Face in the Window (Figure 1.) the landscape and figure outside are of equal importance to the window frame and bouquets on the sill. Here, the natural beauty that you would typically see outside, is sitting in vases inside while a women looks in through the window—a playful inversion of these spaces. While in other works, the window is the subject itself. For example, in Paul Fournier’s Untitled (Sketch for Florida Mirror Series) (Figure 2.) and Denise Ireland’s  Studio on Albany (Figure 3.), the artworks are framed by the contours of the window. Through both windows you get a glimpse of the natural world, but it’s only a minimal view, with the window itself being the focal point. In contrast, Caven Atkins’ painting From My Studio Window, Winnipeg (Figure 4.), the window frame is not visible but instead the focus is on the view; a look at the world from above, offering a different perspective on urban life.

Figure 1. Bruce Smith (Canadian, 1925 – 2005), Face in the Window, oil on Masonite, 1996. Gift of Lorne Smith, 1998.

Figure 2. Paul Fournier (Canadian, b. 1939), Untitled (sketch for Florida Mirror series), coloured pencil and wax crayon on paper, 1983. Gift of the Estate of Alkis Klonaridis, 1993.

The window can also simply be an architectural or compositional accent in the background of an interior space, providing a source of light or even just adding a point of interest. For example, in the religious painting by Robert Harris, Bedside Scene (Figure 5.), the light spilling through the window has the clear purpose of illuminating the young boy sitting in darkness.

In stark contrast to the interior views of windows, inside looking out, there are a couple examples of windows as seen from outside. While peering through the sheer curtain of a window in Susan Scott’s, The Party (Figure 6.), you can see the glowing lights of a party with guests dancing, giving the viewer a glimpse into their private world.

Figure 5. Robert Harris (Canadian, 1849 – 1919), Bedside Scene, oil on millboard, 1885.

Figure 6. Susan Scott (Canadian, b. 1949), The Party, gouache, graphite and fabric on paper, 1979.

Figure 3. Denise Ireland (Canadian, b. 1949), Studio on Albany, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 1981.

Figure 4. Caven Atkins (Canadian, 1907-2000), From My Studio Window, Winnipeg, oil on panel, 1931. Gift of Christie Hewlett, 2009.

Windows can also convey feelings of loneliness and yearning, as well as be a metaphor for hope. For example, in Jeremy Smith’s drawing, Still Life (Figure 7.), a forlorn looking man stares at his cat with the blinds pulled down over the window in the background. The lowered blinds create a barrier between this man and the outside world, adding to the melancholy of the work. While in Isabel McLaughlin’s Budding Hyacinths (Figure 8.) the stark winter landscape through the window and the beautiful hyacinths budding inside suggests the hopeful sign that spring is right around the corner.

Figure 7. Jeremy Smith (b. 1946), Still Life, ink on paper, 1973. Gift of Mira Godard, 1991. Used with permission from Mira Godard Gallery.

Figure 8. Isabel McLaughlin (Canadian, 1903 – 2002), Budding Hyacinths, oil on canvas, c.1933. Gift of Charles Goldhamer, 1983.

Windows are our link to both inner and outer worlds. Artists have been inspired to use windows in their work for centuries, giving them ample ways to explore and think about the world around them, which is fitting as they can do the same for us.