This notecard features the painting Knight Watch (1953) by Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002).

Card dimensions: 13 x 18 cm (5 x 7 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

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.

Card dimensions: 13.5 x 17.5 cm (5.3 x 6.8 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

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.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Karoo Ashevak (1940-1974)
Figure, 1974

Ashevak’s exaggeration of features and imaginative use of whale bone helped define the expressive style of the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. The dissimilar eyes, which signify exceptional sight, and the mittened hand, a symbol of spiritual ability, together suggest that this figured is a powerful otherworldly being.

Card dimensions: 13.5 x 17.5 cm (5.3 x 6.8 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Sarah Anne Johnson (b. 1976)
Explosions, 2011

Johnson’s work explores ideas of utopia and contemporary communities outside the mainstream that gather for idealistic reasons. Her feelings and memories of experiences with these groups is expressed by augmenting the photograph. She recreates scenes as dioramas or enhances images with paint, glitter, ink, and Photoshop manipulations.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Meryl McMaster (b. 1988)
On the Edge of this Immensity, 2019

McMaster combines elements of performance and installation in her photography while exploring the tensions surrounding identity ad heritage, especially her own as a woman of Indigenous (Plains Cree) and European (British/Dutch) descent from Saskatchewan.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

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.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

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.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

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.

Card dimensions: 13.5 x 17.5 cm (5.3 x 6.8 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

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.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

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.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

In the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

This notecard features Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture Maman (1999, cast 2003). Presiding over the plaza of the National Gallery of Canada, Maman was inspired by the artist’s own mother, and stands as a nurturing and protective symbol of fertility, shelter and the home.

Card dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm (6.8 x 5.3 in.)
Blank inside. Envelope included.

© The Easton Foundation / VAGA at ARS, NY / CARCC Ottawa 2024