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| Only a few of Carr's paintings focus more on the sky than trees |
Artist Emily Carr (1871-1945) lived an unconventional life, challenging norms and traditions at the time, and became an artist in her own right. She is best known for her paintings deep in the forest, trees in simplified shapes, but the brushstrokes have a lot of movement and energy.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is showing an extensive assemblage of her work in That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Ideal of Nature until November 8 this year.
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| Wood Interior, 1909 |
There is also a lot of background information about Carr's life. She was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1871 into a privileged family. Carr was the second-youngest of nine children, her father intent on carrying on English traditions.
It's surprising to see the exhibition reveal some personal details about Carr, such as when she was around 12 years old her father decided to talk to her about the birds and the bees that completely turned her off from sex... one wonders what he said to her which caused the conversation to have such a profound effect on her for the rest of her life.
Her childhood and life drastically changed when her mother died when Carr was 14 years old in 1886; she believes her father was heartbroken and died two years later. As a result Carr's oldest sister Edith was her guardian.
From a young age Carr showed artistic leanings and her father encouraged her to develop her talent. But it wasn't until two years later in 1890 that she studied art at the California School of Design in San Francisco for three years, then returned to Vancouver Island and then went to England to study painting; she also went to Paris later in her career.
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| Tree Trunk, 1931 |
Meeting Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven in 1930 made Carr feel like she was part of a community of painters who had similar philosophies, inspired by nature.
"Find the forms you desire to express your purpose," she wrote in her journal in June 1931. "When you have succeeded in getting them as near as you can to express your idea, never leave them but push further on and on strengthening and emphasising those forms to enclose that green idea or ideal."
Most of the paintings are vertical, showing the height of the trees she painted, admiring their trunks and leaves -- she used a lot of green paint! One painting called Wood Interior, 1909 shows trees at ground level, but with the morning light shining in between the tree trunks.
Another called Tree Trunk, 1931, focuses on the simplified form of the tree trunk, which looks similar to a Georgia O'Keefe painting in its sensuous curves and earthy palette.
Only a few works are horizontal, or only show sparse trees, or from a distance and instead focusing on the sky with clouds.
It's such an extensive exhibition, that it is quite an intense Carr retrospective!
That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Ideal of Nature
On until November 8, 2026
Vancouver Art Gallery
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