Lucius R. O’Brien (1832-1899)
Sunrise on the Saguenay, Cape Trinity, 1880

O’Brien was appointed in 1880 as the first president of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Canada’s first national arts organization. His painting Sunrise on the Saguenay, Cape Trinity was his diploma work, honouring his membership to the Academy, and was one of the earliest works to enter the NGC collection.

9 x 6.5 cm (3.5 x 2.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Robert S. Duncanson (1821-1872)
Owl’s Head Mountain, 1864

Duncanson was the first recorded African-American landscape painter. He lived in Montreal from 1863-1865 after fleeing the United States during the American Civil War. His approach to landscape painting would influence many other artists living in Montreal in the 1860s.

9 x 6.5 cm (3.5 x 2.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Joyce Wieland (1930-1998)
O Canada, 4-16 December 1970

Wieland emerged on Toronto’s experimental visual-arts scene in the early 1960s. The first living woman artist to be granted a solo exhibition at the NGC, she blended pop-art strategies with a sly sense of humour. O Canada represents a pair of lips as they sound out the syllables of the national anthem.

9 x 6.5 cm (3.5 x 2.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Mary Pratt (1935-2018)
Red Currant Jelly, 1972

Pratt often took domestic imagery as her subject, believing that commonplace objects were “worthy of a close look.” The acclaimed Newfoundland painter experimented with light to transform an ordinary moment into a charged dramatic scene.

6.5 x 9 cm (2.5 x 3.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Alex Colville (1920-2013)
To Prince Edward Island, 1965

Colville is one of Atlantic Canada’s most celebrated artists. It always seems as if something is just about to happen in his paintings. For each outward sign of calm, there is a corresponding suggestion of looming danger.

9 x 6.5 cm (3.5 x 2.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Brian Jungen (b. 1970)
Vienna, 2003

Jungen is renowned for repurposing objects from contemporary culture to reflect Indigenous concerns. Meant to resemble the skeleton of a whale, an endangered animal considered by many Indigenous peoples to be of great spiritual power, Vienna is constructed out of inexpensive patio chairs made of plastic, an indestructible material.

9 x 6.5 cm (3.5 x 2.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Jin-me Yoon (b. 1960)
Souvenirs of the Self (Lake Louise), 1991

Yoon emigrated from South Korea to Vancouver in 1968. While studying contemporary art, she was exposed to artists and theorists engaged with questions of sexual and cultural difference. Her work is recognized for contributing to the ongoing discussions concerning identity and place.

9 x 6.5 cm (3.5 x 2.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Prudence Heward (1896–1947)
Girl on a Hill, 1928

Heward was one of a group of women artists who were active in Montreal between the First and Second World Wars. She was primarily known for her figure painting and was associated with the artists who formed the Beaver Hall Group.

6.5 x 9 cm (2.5 x 3.5 in.)

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.