Book Launch: J.E.H. MacDonald Up Close

More tickets just released! Due to popular demand, we have opened up additional overflow seating. Seats are first come, first served.

Join Goose Lane Editions and the Vancouver Art Gallery to celebrate the launch of J.E.H. MacDonald Up Close, a new book by art conservation experts Alison Douglas and Kate Helwig.

Hosted by Richard Hill, Smith Jarislowsky Senior Curator of Canadian Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the event will begin with a presentation by Douglas and Helwig, which will provide audience members with a unique, up-close view of the painting materials and methods used by renowned Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald.

Through an examination of MacDonald’s works as physical objects, Douglas and Helwig reveal the characteristic techniques behind his striking and evocative paintings. Their remarkable research was key in determining the correct attribution of the purported MacDonald sketches, now on view in the exhibition J.E.H. MacDonald? A Tangled Garden.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and book signing.

This event is free for Members or with admission. Doors open at 1:30 PM, and the event starts at 2 PM. Books will be available for purchase during the event courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery Store.

This program is presented in conjunction with J.E.H. MacDonald? A Tangled Garden, an exhibition showcasing the investigation the Vancouver Art Gallery’s acquisition of ten previously unknown painted sketches attributed to J.E.H. MacDonald in 2015, one of Canada’s most celebrated painters and a founding member of the Group of Seven.

Please note: Access Pass Holders must purchase an admission ticket of $29 to attend this talk.

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ABOUT THE BOOK

At the height of his career, J.E.H. MacDonald’s paintings and oil sketches reveal a mastery of colour mixing, a sureness of brushstroke and a deep understanding of compositional design. His striking landscapes and views of nature are an important artistic legacy and confirm his essential place among the Group of Seven painters.

J.E.H. MacDonald Up Close provides a fresh interpretation of MacDonald’s artistic development and sheds new light on questions of authenticity and dating surrounding MacDonald’s paintings. Here, art conservation experts Kate Helwig and Alison Douglas combine rigorous scientific analysis with a close visual examination of MacDonald’s work to focus on his materials and techniques. Exploring the interface between art history and science, Helwig and Douglas use excerpts from MacDonald’s diaries, letters and lectures to provide socio-historical context to their in-depth reading of the paintings as physical objects.