On March 6, 1880, Ottawa, the first exhibition of the Canadian Academy of Arts (designated “Royal” the following June), included the works of painters, sculptors, architects, engravers and designers from the different regions of the country. This exhibition, with the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, the Marquis of Lorne (1878-1882) and his wife, Princess Louise, began the long history of exhibitions by the National Gallery of Canada, and by the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

A condition of election to the Academy required each academician to donate a work of art in her or his profession to be known as a Diploma Work. These works formed the core collections of the National Gallery of Canada which opened its doors in 1882. Academicians continued to donate a Diploma Work to the National Gallery until 1976.

Up to 1976, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts mounted 171 national open-juried exhibitions as well as regional and traveling exhibitions, and operated its own gallery at RCA Academy House, 8 Adelaide St East, Toronto (opened on 16 October 1987 and closed January 1992).

One exhibition held at Academy House was Remembering John Cresswell Parkin, from February 28th to April 4th in 1991. John C. Parkin RCA was president of the Academy from 1970 to 1980. The exhibition paid tribute to his contribution to architecture in Canada. Macy DuBois RCA, President of the Academy at the time, stated in the accompanying exhibition catalogue:

As we look back on the Parkin era we see a legacy of clean design and crisp detailing which regains some of its original impact as we contemplate the excesses of the recent past. This is particularly pertinent as we begin to see that the invention we have been perhaps over-applying to our architecture now needs to be applied to city-building. Less exhibitionism and more modesty in relating building to building in order to shape urban spaces will surely make Parkin’s International Style work appear more pertinent to our time.

Another exhibition held at Academy House was Print ’91, an exhibition and sale which opened Thursday, July 25 and continued until September 7th. The show featured the works of 57 Academicians in print media and provided an eclectic mix of styles and techniques – laser woodcuts, etchings, lithographs, monotypes, and Japanese wood cut prints.

In 1980, in celebration of the Centenary of the founding of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and of the National Gallery of Canada by the first Academicians, To found a National Gallery: The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 1880-1913 was exhibited at the National Gallery in Ottawa, and subsequently traveled to Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montréal. This milestone exhibition was curated by Charles Hill, Curator of Canadian Art.

The Creative Spark ’86 aimed to celebrate the cultural value of useful things shaped by Canadians. It was an exhibition of the art of industrial designers that included members and non-members. Included in the show were: John Arnott, Douglas Ball RCA, Bert T. Bobroviniczkay, Mike Brown, Anne Carlyle, Edward Colby, Jonathan Crinion RCA, Michel Dallaire RCA, Paul Epp RCA, Gerry Gaydos, Roderick L. Gerrard RCA, Claude J. Gidman RCA, Gary Kaga, Jan Kuypers RCA, Thomas Lamb RCA, Glenn Moffatt, Keith Muller, Ian Norton RCA, Victor Pinheiro, Philip L. Poissant, René Price, Karim Rashid, Clifford Read, Michael Stewart RCA, Robert Whalen, and Koren de Winter.

The RCA has a rich tradition of organizing exhibitions of Canadian art abroad. Among them were the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886; the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893, and the New York World’ Fair, 1939. Canadian Designers, International Touring Exhibition, created to celebrate the 115th year of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, traveled in 1995 to France, Hungary, Germany and Scotland. The twenty-two artists included Ernest Annau RCA; Stuart Ash RCA; Susan Benson RCA; Lois Etherington Betteridge RCA; Christopher Chapman RCA; George Harding Cuthbertson RCA; Michel Dallaire RCA; Arthur Charles Erickson RCA; Claude Gidman RCA; Manfred Gotthans RCA; Yvette Hoch M.; Dora de Pedery-Hunt RCA; Tamara Jaworska RCA; Tad Jaworski RCA; Jerzy Kolacz RCA; Mayta Markson RCA; Raymond Moriyama RCA; Cornelia Hahn Oberlander RCA; Don W. Vaughan RCA; Andrew S. Volgyesi; Chris Yaneff RCA, and Eberhard H. Zeidler RCA.

RCA Prairie Region Exhibition, organized by the RCA in cooperation with the Winnipeg Art Gallery opened Friday May 30th 1997, at 8pm. The exhibition featured RCA artists from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories, and included a full range of RCA disciplines, including architecture, painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, printmaking and graphic design. Academicians exhibited from Manitoba were Gordon Adaskin RCA, Richard Condie RCA, Gustavo da Roza RCA, Caroline Dukes RCA, Ivan Eyre RCA , Étienne Gaboury RCA, Bruce Head RCA, E. J. Howarth RCA , Winston Leathers RCA, William Lobchuk RCA, Valerie Metcalfe RCA, Leo Mol RCA, Jim Orzechowski RCA, Luther Pokrant RCA, Don Proch RCA , Ernest J. Smith RCA, Eva Stubbs RCA, George Swinton RCA, Tony Tascona RCA and Andrew Valko RCA. From the Northwest Territories were Academicians Kenojuak Ashevak RCA, Abraham Etungat RCA, Osuitok Ipeelee RCA, Kananginak Pootoogook RCA and Marion Tuu’luuq RCA. Academicians exhibited from Saskatchewan were Douglas Bentham RCA, Victor Cicansky RCA, Joe Fafard, Dorothy Knowles RCA, William Perehudoff RCA, Wilf Perrault RCA, Allen Sapp RCA, and David Thauberger RCA. Extremely successful the exhibition attracted over 13,000 visitors – the largest audience WAG ever had for an exhibition. The exhibition was curated by Don DeGrow and organized by Prairie Region members, chaired by Morley Blankstein RCA. With over $52,000 in funding raised locally, the exhibition traveled to venues in Western and Upper Canada in 1998-99, including Triangle Gallery, Calgary; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (where the exhibition was expanded to include works by 50 RCA members living on Vancouver Island), and the Frederick Horseman Varley Art Gallery, Markham, Ontario.

In 1998, Kaleidoscope, an Exhibition by Quebec Members of the RCA was presented in celebration of the 118th Annual General Assembly of the Academy (AGA). Organized by Yves Trudeau RCA, Michel Dallaire RCA, Pierre Henry RCA, Ghitta Caiserman-Roth RCA, and Joseph-Richard Veilleux RCA, and curated by Alysouk Lynhiavu, Coordinator of Cultural Development at Rive Gauche Rive Droite in Québec City, the exhibition was held at the Palais Montcalm, Québec City, May 1 – 31 1998 and included works by 53 Quebec Academicians. The exhibition and the AGA were sponsored by the Federal Government, the City of Quebec, Pratt and Whitney Canada, and others.

Earthworks, an exhibition of works by Ontario Academicians, curated by Blanche Lemco van Ginkel RCA and assisted by Jerzy Kolacz RCA and Ann Roberts RCA, celebrated the earth in painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography and architecture. The exhibition opened on Thursday, October 29, 1998 at the John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto and went to November 21. Those whose works were exhibited included : Christopher Adeney, Conyers Barker, Lois Betteridge RCA, Christopher Chapman RCA, Macy DuBois RCA / Helga Plumb RCA, Pat Durr RCA, Ants Elken RCA, Pat Fairhead RCA, Graeme Ferguson RCA, John Flanders RCA, Elizabeth Holbrook RCA, Barbara Howard RCA, Rosemary Kilbourn RCA, Gene Kinoshita RCA / Don Moffat RCA, Jerzy Kolacz RCA, Burton Kramer RCA, Jerome Markson RCA, Mayta Markson RCA, Naoko Matsubara RCA, Ray Moriyama RCA, Kay Murray-Weber RCA, Mary Pavey RCA, Ann Roberts RCA, Fay Rooke RCA, Joe Rosentha RCA l, Jim Strasman RCA, Ernestine Tahedl RCA, Osvald Timmas RCA, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel RCA, Sandy van Ginkel RCA, and Sally Wildman. RCA.

From November 1999 to July 2000, Traces of Land, Traces of People: Contemporary Images of Ontario, curated by Clara Hargittay, was presented in the suites of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario at Queen’s Park, and was opened by Her Honour Hilary Weston, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The exhibition included works by Academicians Lois Etherington Betteridge RCA, metalsmith; Ted Bieler RCA, sculptor; John Boyle RCA, painter; Lynn Donoghue RCA, painter; Paterson Ewen RCA, painter; Richard Gorman RCA, painter; Stephen Hogbin RCA, sculptor; Barbara Howard RCA, painter; and Badanna Zack RCA, sculptor.

Introduction from the Lieutenant Governor
Our artists help define what it means to be Canadian. They create works which reflect our values, our way of life and our perception of the world. If it is true that every artist writes his or her own autobiography as Havelock Ellis has said, then it is equally true that they preserve an image of our time.

I am delighted that this new exhibit, “Traces of Land – Traces of People” will be here at Queen’s Park as we mark the turning of a millennium. Many thousands of Ontarians and visitors alike will have an opportunity to see and celebrate with us the talent and vision of these members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. It is both provocative and beautiful, illuminating themes, issues and our contemporary view at an important moment in history.

I am most grateful for the enthusiastic support of the Royal Canadian Academy, in particular Ernest Annau (RCA, Alison Hymas (RCA) and Clara Hargittay. The cooperation of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the technical assistance of Irma Ditchburn, Curator of the Ontario Government Art Collection, were also much appreciated. Finally, I am particularly delighted that the artists themselves have allowed us the privilege of joining their journey to a new century.
Hilary M. Weston

Notes from the Curator
What best defines a time and place, a people and a community? What are the images that linger on as remembrances of a particular setting, of a moment frozen in time, of a fleeting impression of an emotion or experience? Most likely, if we search our memories, they will be images of scenery and glimpses of expressions on human faces.

These were the thoughts that first came to mind in response to the Lieutenant Governor’s invitation to assemble an exhibition of outstanding and relevant contemporary art that spoke meaningfully about Ontario as a dynamic and progressive community looking with hope and confidence to the new millennium.

The land, and humankind’s complex and, at times, ambiguous relationship with the natural environment, is a theme that has always figured prominently in Canada’s national psyche. In large measure, Canadian identity is tied to this vast and rugged landscape, which, not surprisingly, has been a preoccupation of artists through generations – an attraction that is not abating. But artists today are reaching beyond the tradition of landscape painting; they are finding fundamentally new approaches to dealing with landscape and natural phenomena.

The most profound departure from landscape tradition has been introduced by Paterson Ewen, one of Canada’s most revered artists. Since 1970, he has been creating large rough paintings about natural phenomena and elemental forces. The irony is that, for Ewen, painting natural phenomena meant a return to landscape painting after a successful career as an abstract painter. But Ewen is not painting landscape in the traditional sense. In his “phenomenascapes”, he gives expression to the power of nature and the essential elemental forces that shape the land. His works are informed by philosophical and formal concerns advanced by conceptual art. Image, material and the act of making become inseparable in his process of working.

Capturing the experience of landscape, rather than recording its appearance, has been the driving force behind the work of Richard Gorman and Barbara Howard, two seasoned Ontario painters whose break from traditional landscape has been less radical than Ewen’s. Gorman’s beautiful sensual paintings, hovering somewhere between abstraction and reality, are reduced to bare essentials and offer only a hint of recognition, a trace of nature. Much in the same spirit, Barbara Howard’s painting, Fluke at Sunrise, featured in this exhibition, captures only a fleeting impression of the sun’s rays over a shimmering body of water, without an attempt to render it realistically.

Similarly, contemporary artists have transformed the art of portraiture from the conventions of traditional hierarchic presentations of a given individual in a predictable social setting, into a provocative art form. Portraits by Lynn Donoghue and John Boyle featured in this exhibition consider broad social and cultural contexts at play behind the exterior façade of the subject. They are about identity and representation.

While Badanna Zack’s sculptural installation of A Collection of Cowboy Boots injects a humorous tone into the exhibition, it also makes intriguing connections both with the landscapes and the portraits assembled. Far removed from the notion of traditional sculpture, her thirty-two cowboy boots, grouped together and cleverly displayed as an assemblage, take on life of their own. Rich in poetry and full of fascinating connections to both formal art issues and everyday life, the work questions consumer culture and the role of material possessions in our lives.

In this exhibition, there is no dividing line between fine art and fine craft. This point is underscored by the works of Ted Bieler and Stephen Hogbin, and gold and silversmith Lois Etherington Betteridge whose beautiful pieces bring a sense of richness and variety to the overall display.

Playing Cards of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, an exhibition of work by 55 RCA Members, was presented by Gallery Stratford in Stratford’s Market Square for the 1999 Festival Season celebration.

In celebration of the Academy’s 120th anniversary and of the Millennium, Arts2000, a national exhibition of contemporary Canadian visual arts included 280 works in 14 disciplines, by Academicians and non members. Exhibited at Gallery Stratford, Stratford Ontario for four months in the summer of 2000, the Arts2000 jury included Michel Dallaire RCA; Arthur Erickson RCA; Mayo Graham, National Gallery of Canada; Sherrard Grauer RCA; Gerald McMaster, curator; Roland Poulin, sculptor; Jeffrey Spalding, curator, and Don Stuart RCA. RCA Trust Fund Jury Prizes were awarded to: Eric Cameron RCA; Louise Genest RCA; Thaddeus Holownia RCA and Robert Tombs; Steven Ibbott; Marcel Marois RCA; Susan McEachern; Van McKenzie; Leslie Reid RCA, and Kim Webster.

In 2003 The Political is Personal: A First Nations Perspective, on exhibition for six months in the suites of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario at Queen’s Park, was opened by His Honour James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, on April 3, 2003. Curated by Clara Hargittay, the exhibition included works by Mary Anne Barkhouse RCA; Carl Beam RCA; Michael Belmore RCA; Rebecca Belmore; Bonnie Devine; Robert Houle RCA; Nadia Myre; Greg Staats, and Jeff Thomas.