In the early 20^th century, sending a postcard was an affordable and quick way to connect with loved ones. Often costing just a halfpenny— half the price of a letter —postcards offered a simple yet effective way to share news, greetings, and sentiments. This exhibition features historical postcards from Oshawa, drawn from the Thomas Bouckley Collection. Thomas Bouckley was a passionate collector of all things Oshawa, including postcards, photographs, and ephemera. The postcards on display are more than just snapshots of time—they are windows into the daily lives, humor, and culture of a community.

Particularly charming are the novelty postcards: vivid, humorous, and sometimes cheeky, filled with innuendo, romantic pursuits, and playful exaggerations—much like the memes we share today. While many of these novelty postcards are not specific to Oshawa, they reflect the broader social trends and popular culture of the time.

With the rise of the telephone and other forms of communication, postcards gradually declined in popularity. This exhibition invites reflection on a time when sending a message was a physical act—a piece of paper carrying a piece of someone’s world. Whether humorous, scenic, or exaggerated, these postcards give us a glimpse into the shared experiences, personalities, and cultural identity of historical Oshawa.

While we are often more familiar with an artist’s work than their physical appearance, portraits of artists offer a glimpse into the person behind the art. A good portrait captures the sitter’s likeness, but a great one captures their essence. And who better to achieve this than a fellow artist? This exhibition, drawn from the Permanent Collection, explores portraits of artists created by their peers.

Artists create portraits of other artists for many reasons. Some do so to express admiration, honoring their subject’s contributions and impact on the art world. Others are motivated by personal relationships, capturing mentors, peers, or collaborators to commemorate their shared bond through art. Whether spontaneous or commissioned, these portraits represent a creative exchange between artists, shaped by their unique motivations.

Bringing together various mediums, styles and approaches, the artworks featured in this exhibition are as varied as the subjects and artists themselves. Ranging from intimate sketches to formal representations, these works go beyond mere likeness to reflect the deep admiration and special connections between artists.

Painters Eleven was the first abstract artist collective in Ontario. They were founded in 1953 at the cottage of artist Alexandra Luke on the Oshawa/Whitby border. The group did not have a common philosophy or style, instead Painters Eleven banded together around their shared desire to support abstraction and exhibit together. As Jock Macdonald noted: “The meaning of our group is the fact that we think alike about creativeness in art and the unity established is our power.” Rather than a manifesto, the group settled on a statement: “There is no manifesto here for the times. There is no jury but time. By now there is little harmony in the noticeable disagreement. But there is a profound regard for the consequences of our complete freedom.”

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s collection began in 1967 when artist Alexandra Luke, a member of Painters Eleven, donated thirty-seven works from her private collection. Luke’s donation of art helped to establish the RMG’s unique focus on collecting and exhibiting the work of Painters Eleven and included works by all members of the group. Today, the RMG’s collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints by Painters Eleven has grown to over one thousand works, including works from before and after the Painters Eleven years (1953-1960). The RMG regularly presents exhibitions featuring works by the group, pulling together different aesthetics or themes.

Artists have often played with scale to convey significance or to demonstrate their painting abilities. Similarly, abstract artists have used large-scale art to create striking visual impact and to highlight the physicality of the process. Whether to inspire awe or elevate abstraction to new levels, the artists in this exhibition have worked at a larger-than-life, even monumental scale.

Abstraction is an important part of the RMG’s story. While the gallery frequently exhibits work by Painters Eleven, it also has an extensive collection of artworks by other important Canadian abstract artists. This exhibition brings together large-scale abstract paintings from the RMG’s permanent collection some of which have rarely been exhibited – mostly due to their sheer size. The big and bold artworks are expressive and joyful, showing that great art comes in all colours, shapes and sizes.

Join us for lecture on Jack Bush on November 7, 2024 at 7PM.

A founding member of Painters Eleven, Jack Bush (1909-1977) was one of the first Canadian painters of his generation to achieve international success. Considered a late bloomer with abstraction, Bush found his voice as an artist in his late forties. His exploration with abstract expressionism provided him with an outlet to express his feelings and moods. By the 1960s, he had a breakthrough with painting – applying paint thinner and more simplistically. Bush would shift towards Color Field abstraction which gained him international fame. Drawing primarily from the RMG’s permanent collection, this exhibition pulls together works that reflect the scope of Bush’s artistic career and the self-expression he found in art.

Art has the power to inspire change and challenge norms. It can evoke emotions, spark conversations, and create a sense of community and solidarity. Featuring a variety of artworks from The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s (RMG) Permanent Collection of over 4,700 pieces, this exhibition explores how artists throughout history have used art to resist and disrupt social and political structures– including within the art world.

The RMG is a space for many to reflect, learn, engage in dialogue, and connect. During these complex global times, we believe art can play an important role in understanding our world and in healing. We are responsive to contemporary issues and see this exhibition as an opportunity to engage in the discourse on freedom of expression. Recently, there has been a number of high-profile incidents of censorship of artists and arts workers in our sector worldwide. In response, this exhibition features art that courts controversy, comments on contemporary issues, and generally pushes back on the status quo.

Pegi Nicol MacLeod (born Margaret Kathleen Nichol, 1904-1949) was inspired by everyday scenes around her. Growing up in Ottawa, MacLeod studied art at the Ottawa Art School, and later at the École des beaux-arts in Montreal.  While her subjects were varied— children, bustling crowds, views from her window—her style was undeniably hers. Art historian Laura Brandon described MacLeod’s unique vision: “MacLeod’s paintings are like jazz. Whatever the subject, her colours and lines weave a complex and energetic or discordant harmony that is unforgettably hers.”  This exhibition pulls together works in the RMG’s permanent collection that capture MacLeod’s exuberant and spontaneous energy that she applied to her life and art. 

Clement Greenberg was an influential American art critic who helped define twentieth century art. At the peak of his career in the 1940s and 1950s, Greenberg helped establish abstract expressionism as the popular art form, making artists like Jackson Pollock a household name. Members of the Ontario abstract collective, Painters Eleven, wanted to invite Greenberg to Toronto to evaluate their work. This exhibition pulls together artworks produced after this visit and considers the effect, if any, the American critic had on their individual art practice.

It was William Ronald who suggested inviting Clement Greenberg to do studio visits at a Painters Eleven meeting on May 9^th, 1957. While some members were keen on the idea, Harold Town and Walter Yarwood were staunchly opposed, with Town stating: “I refuse to show my paintings to any damned American art critic.” Town did not like the idea of an American influencing what Canadian abstract painters were doing and did not want his validation. He believed that abstraction in Toronto was different and just as significant as their New York contemporaries. Despite the opposition, the group made the arrangements and the visit occurred in June 1957 without the participation of Town, Yarwood, and Oscar Cahen who had tragically died the year before.

Greenberg spent half a day each in their studios, and developed lasting relationships with some of the artists. Alexandra Luke’s notes from the visit said that Greenberg believed that the group was “on fire”. He was impressed by what they were doing and was eager to see where each of them would go in their careers. Greenberg told the group: “…you can all paint excellently – what you have to do is to realize that within yourselves you have the personal abilities to say something as profound as anywhere in the world.”

Whether directly influenced by Greenberg’s comments or not, this was a time of change for the group. Some were already moving away from abstract expressionism and pushing their own individuality as artists. Painters Eleven members were indeed “on fire” in 1957. Gaining the attention and respect of a critic of Greenberg’s stature is an important part of their history.

Who were Painters Eleven?

• Painters Eleven was the first abstract artist collective in Ontario, founded in 1953 at the cottage of Oshawa artist Alexandra Luke on the Oshawa/Whitby border.
• Painters Eleven banded together around their shared desire to support abstraction and exhibit.
• They were a collective from 1953-1960 and included the following artists: Alexandra Luke, William Ronald, Jack Bush, Oscar Cahen, Walter Yarwood, Kazuo Nakamura, Hortense Gordon, Harold Town, Jock Macdonald, Tom Hodgson, and Ray Mead.
• The RMG has the largest collection of artworks by Painters Eleven in the world.

Who was Clement Greenberg (American, 1909-1994)?

• Greenberg was one of the most influential art critics in the 20^th century, and championed modernism and abstraction, helping to define Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting.
• Greenberg believed abstraction was superior to realism because of the focus on form rather than content. He thought art should focus on the medium used and not tell stories or comment on the world.
• He wrote extensively about modern art. Some of his most important essays are : Avant-Garde and Kitsch (1939), Abstract Art (1944), and The Crisis of the Easel Painting (1948)
• Greenberg was also an art collector. He amassed a huge collection that was donated to the Portland Art Museum by his widow Janice Van Horne. His collection included works by Kenneth Noland, Hans Hofmann, Jackson Pollock, William Ronald and Jack Bush.
• Greenberg was not without controversy. Most notably he had a rivalry with fellow art critic Harold Rosenberg. Greenberg never swayed from his belief that art should be flat, abstract and focus on formal qualities, while Rosenberg argued that art should focus on content and action.
• Like the painters Eleven, Greenberg visited other Canadian artist’s studio by invitation. He travelled to Northern Saskatchewan where he connected with artists like Kenneth Lochhead, Dorothy Knowles, and William Perehudoff. 

This year marks one hundred years since Oshawa was incorporated as a city. From humble beginnings with a population of 16,000, today more than 172,000 people call Oshawa home. Through historical photographs from the Thomas Bouckley Collection, this exhibition explores what life was like in Oshawa in 1924.

Oshawa was established as the 25th city in Ontario on March 8th, 1924. A letter written by the Premier of Ontario, G.H. Ferguson, featured on the front page of the Oshawa Daily Telegram. He wrote: “As the home of a great portion of our automotive industry, Oshawa feels a growing and a permanent need in the life of the nation.” Industry in Oshawa was indeed booming. General Motors of Canada encouraged a growth in population from 4,000 to 16,000 over the previous decade. The city celebration was marked with a parade and the year was filled with various events that reflected Oshawa’s new status. In 1924, Mayor W.J. Trick oversaw the dedication of the Cenotaph in Memorial Park in honour of those lost in WWI, and there was the construction of the water tower which was thought at the time to be the largest in the world.

This exhibition looks back on the earliest recorded memories of the Oshawa’s city status. As we look toward the future, we can reflect on how far we have come, the immense progress the city has made, and what kind of city we want to be in the next 100 years.

Take a virtual tour of this exhibition here.

Time can be saved, wasted, and lost, but not stopped. We can have all the time in the world yet no time at all. Time as a concept is one of the great mysteries of the world. It is defined as the continued sequence of existence and events in the past, present, and future. Generally speaking, it measures duration; in more philosophical terms it is debated as being either linear or cyclical; and in science, the modern understanding of time is based on Einstein’s theory of relativity. This exhibition explores how artists have marked the passage of time through seasons and hours, aging, captured moments, and referencing the past.

Art can be a reflection of our times—it has the power to express and capture moments through light, colour, subject, or social commentary on contemporary issues. The RMG is dedicated to collecting with intention in order to reflect the diverse voices and contemporary issues that make up the continuing story of Canadian art. Since 1967, the gallery’s Permanent Collection of over 4,700 artworks has evolved through the acquisition of new artwork and the exploration of different themes and topics through exhibitions. Featuring a variety of works from the Permanent Collection, this exhibition reflects on the inevitable passing of time and the lessons we can learn from the past.

Installation of About Time at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2023. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.

This exhibition is supported by: