Lori Pauli, Marta Weiss, Ann Thomas, Karen Henry

Since the earliest days of photography, artists have directed models posing before the camera and, through the use of theatrical props, costumes, and lighting, have created "staged" photographs that tell a story. Acting the Part is the first major history of this enduring and highly creative branch of photography. Beautiful illustrations range from the earliest salted paper prints and daguerreotypes to today's digitally manipulated images. The book also presents 57 short biographies of the genre's leading practitioners, including Oscar Rejlander, Julia Margaret Cameron, Lewis Carroll, Man Ray, Duane Michals, Les Krims, Jeff Wall, Yasumasa Morimura and Wang Qingsong, among others.

Softcover & Hardcover | 176 pages
28.5 x 23.5 x 1.5 cm (11.2 x 9.3 x 0.6 in.)
Publication Date: 2006

Greg Hill, Chris Dueker, Lee-Ann Martin

Alex Janvier is among the most important figures in the development of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. This retrospective presents more than 150 works created from 1950 to the present day and recounts the story of a life devoted to art and the re-empowerment of Indigenous cultures. Over a prolific sixty-five-year career Janvier has produced thousands of paintings and many public commissions, all in a unique style, recognizable for its calligraphic lines, vivid colours, Dene iconography and forms that evoke land, sky, galaxies and microscopic life. Janvier is part of a distinguished group of artists in Canada who have brought Indigenous beliefs, issues and aesthetics to the foreground and successfully combined them with Western art styles and techniques.

Paperback | 200 pages
23 x 28 cm (9 x 11 in.)
Publication Date: 2016

Ann Thomas

American Photographs 1900-1950 is the fourth in a series of publications focusing on selected masterpieces from the Photographs collection of the National Gallery of Canada. The first half of the 20th century marks a lively era in American art history when photography was first celebrated as an art form. The catalogue highlights masterpieces from such photographers as Lisette Model, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Walker Evans, and Edward Weston.

Paper | 196 pages
20.5 x 26.5 cm (8 x 10½ in.) 
Publication Date: 2011

Matha Hannah with Marnie Fleming & Olivier Asselin 

The work of Angela Grauerholz occupies an important place in Canadian and international photography. From the 1980s on, her search to redefine the art of photography has taken various forms including portraits and interior and exterior scenes with or without people. This retrospective publication covers twenty years of production and highlights Grauerholz's major photographic and installation works. Three critical essays discuss the work in relation to time, memory and representation. 

Hardcover | 240 pages 
18 x 24.5 cm (7.1 x 9.65 in.) 
Publication Date: 2007

Arthur Tiar and Maxime Penaud

Artistic technique is not about talent, it's about approach! To improve, you must practice. To practice, you must enjoy yourself. This innovative method will help you do just that! Discover the key concepts of watercolour through easy and fun exercises. You'll be able to practice right away and get rewarding results while you learn. So, grab your brushes and have fun! 

Paperback | 32 pages
21 x 29.6 cm (8.2 x 11.6 in.) 
Publication Date: 2024 

Only available in French. 

Arnaud Maggs: Identification is a survey exhibition that follows the Canadian artist’s production over four decades. Focusing on seminal and recent works, it showcases Maggs’ various working strategies and subject matter. Each work on display records in some way the people, places and lived experiences that have marked the artist. The exhibition is accompanied by a 240-page full colour bilingual catalogue, which contains an essay by the exhibition curator; Q&As with the artist, and a chronological biography.

Softcover | 240 pages 
24.5 x 29 cm (9.6 x 11.4 in.) 
Publication Date: 2012

Alain de Botton and John Armstrong

This passionate, thought-provoking, often funny, and always-accessible book proposes a new way of looking at art, suggesting that it can be useful, relevant, and therapeutic. Through practical examples, the world-renowned authors argue that certain great works of art have clues as to how to manage the tensions and confusions of modern life. Chapters on love, nature, money, and politics show how art can help with many common difficulties, from forging good relationships to coming to terms with mortality.

Paperback | 240 pages
13.6 x 19.8 cm (5.35 x 7.8 in.) 
Publication date: 2016

Alain de Botton and John Armstrong

This passionate, thought-provoking, often funny, and always-accessible book proposes a new way of looking at art, suggesting that it can be useful, relevant, and therapeutic. Through practical examples, the world-renowned authors argue that certain great works of art have clues as to how to manage the tensions and confusions of modern life. Chapters on love, nature, money, and politics show how art can help with many common difficulties, from forging good relationships to coming to terms with mortality.

Hardcover | 239 pages
21 x 28 cm (8.2 x 11 in.) 
Publication date: 2014

Kitty Scott, Jonathan Shaughnessy 

The Art Metropole Collection is a truly unique ensemble of objects collected by a group of artists known as General Idea (the ground-breaking collective practice of AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal). Comprising more than 100 objects and including works by more than 125 Canadian and international artists, Le top 100 gives greater exposure to this extensive collection and brings to light some of the rare material contained within. 

Paper | 140 pages 
18 x 23 cm (7 x 9 in.) 
Publication Date: 2006

Kitty Scott, Jonathan Shaughnessy 

The Art Metropole Collection is a truly unique ensemble of objects collected by a group of artists known as General Idea (the ground-breaking collective practice of AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal). Comprising more than 100 objects and including works by more than 125 Canadian and international artists, The Top 100 gives greater exposure to this extensive collection and brings to light some of the rare material contained within. 

Paper | 140 pages 
18 x 23 cm (7 x 9 in.) 
Publication Date: 2006

Phyllis Webstad

"Every child matters, including you and me. With our orange hearts, we walk in harmony." As a young child, your little world can be full of big emotions. In this book, I, Phyllis Webstad, founder of Orange Shirt Day, show that sharing my story with the world helped me to process my feelings. My true orange shirt story encourages young children to open their hearts and listen as others share their feelings, and to be more comfortable sharing their own feelings too. Listening is a first step towards reconciliation. It's never too early to start.

Softcover | 24 pages
19.7 x 19.7 cm (7.7 x 7.7 in.) 
Publication Date: 2022

René Villeneuve

This fully illustrated catalogue is an original interpretation of the stylistic evolution of Quebec sculpture between 1650 and 1850. 

Paper | 264 pages
23.7 x 29.2 cm (9.4 x 11.5 in.) 
Publication Date: 1997

Ann Thomas with essays by Marta Braun, Mimi Cazort, Martin Kemp, John P. McElhone, and Larry J. Schaaf.

By bringing together the works of photographers such as Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, William Henry Fox Talbot, Étienne-Jules Marey, Eadweard Muybridge, Anna Atkins, Charles Marville, Lewis Rutherfurd, Edward Emerson Barnard, Karl Blossfeldt and Berenice Abbott, among others, Beauty of Another Order looks at the scientific purposes and the aesthetic expression and influence of this genre of photography. 

Softcover |256 pages 
28 x 21.5 (11 x 8.5 in.) 
Published Date: 1997 

Sonia Del Re, Dennis T. Lanigan, Christopher Newall

Beauty's Awakening expresses the richness, diversity and flair of British draftsmanship and illustrates the appreciation developed for the art of drawing during the Victorian era. Included are drawings by such masters as Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Poynter and Frederic Leighton.

Paperback | 216 pages 
23 x 30 cm (9 x 12 in.) 
Publication Date: 2015

Marie Fraser

The National Gallery of Canada presents the dynamic trio BGL, with its ambitions installation Canadassimo, at the 2015 Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition. BGL’s work is witty, soulful and provocative. It explores social issues, consumerism, the relationship between culture and nature, even the absurdities of the art world. The catalogue contains an essay and an interview which offer valuable insights into the collective's practice.

Paperback | 200 pages
25.4 x 33 cm (10 x 13 in.)
Bilingual
Publication Date: 2015

Douglas E. Schoenherr

Great drawings and superb watercolours by seventy major artists from the 18th to the 20th centuries are presented here and demonstrate the strength of the British drawings collection of the National Gallery of Canada. The catalogue, which includes works by such artists as J.W.M.Turner, Samuel Palmer, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt, is the fourth in a series presenting important drawings from the Gallery's permanent collection.

Paper | 196 pages 
20.35 x 26.68 cm (8 x 10.5 in.) 
Publication Date: 2005

Jonathan Shaughnessy, Heather Anderson, Andrea Kunard, Christine Lalonde, Ann Thomas

Builders: Canadian Biennial 2012 is the National Gallery of Canada’s second exhibition of new Canadian art acquired over the past two years, and features over 100 paintings, sculptures, drawings, videos and multimedia installations created by more than forty artists. In placing emergent practices alongside long-established Canadian artists who have been instrumental in “building” a context for Canadian art today, Builders offers the opportunity to appreciate the range of aesthetic accomplishment in this country.

FEATURED ARTISTS: Vikky Alexander, David Altmejd, Benoit Aquin, Melanie Authier, Jim Breukelman, Michel de Broin, Edward Burtynsky, Lynne Cohen, Chris Cran, Max Dean, Susan Dobson, Marcel Dzama, Brendan Fernandes, Robert Fones, Will Gorlitz, Terence Gower, David Ross Harper, Faye Heavyshield, Dil Hildebrand, David Hoffos, Simon Hughes, Elisapee Ishulutaq, Sarah Anne Johnson, Brian Jungen, Myfawny MacLeod, Qavavau Manumie, Lynne Marsh, Scott McFarland, Jason McLean, Michael Merrill, David Merritt, Evan Penny, Sandy Plotnikoff, Jon Pylypchuk, Leslie Reid, David K. Ross, Mark Ruwedel, Michael Snow, Mark Soo, Derek Sullivan, Ron Terada, Joanne Tod, Stephen Waddell, Daniel Young and Christian Giroux.

Paper | 182 pages
23 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 in.) 
Publication Date: 2012

Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Greg A. Hill, Andrea Kunard

C'est ce que c'est. Acquisitions récentes d'art actuel canadien features a selection of over seventy works created by more than fifty artists working across the country in a range of media, practices and sensibilities. More than a catalogue, this publication can be seen as a document that acknowledges some of the most compelling works being produced in Canada today.

FEATURED ARTISTS: David Altmejd, Stephen Andrews, Shuvinai Ashoona, Mary Anne Barkhouse, Rebecca Belmore, BGL, Valérie Blass, Shary Boyle, James Carl, Patrick Coutu, Thirza Cuthand, Geoffrey Farmer, Karel Funk, Tim Gardner, Chris Gergley, Greg Girard, Rodney Graham, Pascal Grandmaison, Adad Hannah, Isabelle Hayeur, Antonia Hirsch, Kristan Horton, Simon Hughes, Spring Hurlbut, Sarah Anne Johnson, Wanda Koop, Rodney LaTourelle, Tim Lee, Mark Lewis, Liz Magor, Luanne Martineau, Scott McFarland, Sandra Meigs, Chris Millar, Gareth Moore, Alex Morrison, Nadia Myre, Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, Shelley Niro, Ed Pien, Tim Pitsiulak, Yannick Pouliot, Steven Shearer, Ron Terada, Susan Turcot, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Chih-Chien Wang, Colleen Wolstenholme, Kevin Yates, Robert Youds, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Etienne Zack, Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky.

Paper | 160 pages
22.5 x 29.5 cm (8.9 x 11.6 in.) 
Publication Date: 2010

Anka Muhlstein

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) occupied a central place in the art world of his time: a founding member of the new French school of painting, Impressionism, he attracted Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Berthe Morisot, and later Cézanne and Gauguin. Supported throughout his career, despite the hostility of the public, by the great Parisian art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, he had a persistent feeling of being apart, different, and difficult to classify. Settling in France at the age of twenty-five but born in the Danish West Indies, he was not French and, moreover, he was Jewish. He never hid this fact and knew that it was not insignificant in French society, which was shaken at the end of the 19th century by the defeat of 1870, workers' struggles, and the Dreyfus affair. His two passions were painting and the artistic education of his children. Thanks to his astonishing energy and availability, he never sacrificed one for the other, and his five sons became painters themselves. Drawing on Pissarro's considerable body of work and a vast collection of letters that reveal his warm nature and great freedom of thought, Anka Muhlstein paints a nuanced and intimate portrait of an artist with an independent and singular spirit.

Paperback | 272 pages
22.7 x 14.3 cm (8.9 x 5.6 in.) 
Publication Date: 2024

Only available in French.

Greg Hill, Gerald McMaster, Virginia Eichhorn, Alan Corbiere, Crystal Migwans and Ann Beam

Carl Beam was a powerful voice in contemporary art in Canada. A key Anishnaabe artist, he drew upon all the cultural resources at the disposal of a contemporary artist. This catalogue, exhibition and tour of fifty magnificent and challenging works by Beam, is the first such opportunity to view a selection of his paintings, constructions, ceramics and video that cover his entire artistic career.

Softcover | 140 pages 
20.5 x 28 cm (8 x 11 in.) 
Publication Date: 2011