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Stormy weather: F.H. Varley, a biography
By Maria Tippett. 1998
This biography of the Group of Seven painter, Fred Varley, examines both his personal and professional lives. The effects of…
his drinking and womanizing on his family and his work are closely examined.Northern light: the enduring mystery of Tom Thomson and the woman who loved him
By Roy MacGregor. 2010
The author re-examines the mysteries of Tom Thomson's life, loves and violent death in the definitive non-fiction account. Why does…
a man who died almost a century ago and painted relatively little still have such a grip on our imagination? 2010.Emily Carr: Emily Carr (Extraordinary Canadians)
By Lewis DeSoto. 2008
Mad, bad, and dangerous to know is how Victorian society dismissed Emily Carr, but the author sees her as a…
woman in search of God, freedom, and the essence of art. Her quest to be an independent woman and artist took her from the studios of Paris to deep inside the remote Native villages of the West Coast forests. Carr is revealed as one of those unique individuals who articulate the symbols and images by which Canada identifies itself. 2008.This and that: the lost stories of Emily Carr
By Emily Carr, Ann-Lee Switzer. 2007
Carr began to write these stories in the last two years of her life. Enter Emily's world with stories like…
"Father's Temper," "The First Snow" and "Smoking with the Cow," stories in which she reveals details of her family life, school days, her fascination with nature, animals she loved and how she learned to smoke. Some descriptions of sex and violence, some strong language. 2007.Spring will come
By William N Zulu. 2005
The life story of William Zulu, a linocut artist, highly acclaimed for his evocative art-works. Having contracted spinal TB as…
a baby, William underwent misplaced corrective surgery to his spine in his late teens which left him paralysed and permanently wheelchair bound. But William's story is no victim's litany; it recounts with zest and humour the events of his life, his unfolding artistic development and the world of deep rural Africa in which he is rooted. 2005.A black man called Sekoto
By N. Chabani Manganyi. 1996
Drawing on a series of interviews with Gerard Sekoto and on Sekoto's extensive correspondence with art historian Barbara Lindop, this…
book explores the life of an artist who left South Africa for exile in France in order to remain true to his creative talents. This narrative of exile explores the impact on Sekoto's artistic output, specifically on scenes from his native South Africa, of the artist's tenuous relation to his adopted environment and his dependence on memory. 1996.The Group of Seven in western Canada
By Catharine M Mastin. 2002
In 1920, when the Group of Seven was founded, free rail passes were still available to Canadian artists so they…
would make images that would familiarize Eastern Canadians with the West - and almost all of the Group's members used the perk. Commentary by six Canadian scholars and curators explores the deep importance of the West for the artists and their work. Includes insights into A.Y. Jackson and Edwin Holgate's interpretations - and misinterpretations - of the Skeena people, and Frederick Varley's troubled relationships with his wife and lovers. Some descriptions of sex. 2002.Leonardo da Vinci
By Walter Isaacson. 2017
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Isaacson weaves a…
narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and technology. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history's most creative genius. Bestseller. 2017.Gainsborough: a portrait
By James Hamilton. 2017
Thomas Gainsborough was a gentle and empathetic family man, but had a volatility that could lead him to slash his…
paintings, and a loose libidinous way of speaking, writing and behaving that shocked many deeply. James Hamilton reveals Gainsborough in his many contexts: the easy-going Suffolk lad; the rake-on-the-make in London; and the top society-portrait painter. 2017.Emily Carr: the different Victorian (Operation literacy series ; reading level C)
By Anne Monaghan. 1981
The Way Home
By David A. Neel. 2019
David Neel was an infant when his father, a traditional Kwakiutl artist, returned to the ancestors, triggering a series of…
events that would separate David from his homeland and its rich cultural traditions for twenty-five years. When the aspiring photographer saw a mask carved by an ancestor in a Texas museum, the encounter inspired him to return home and follow in his father’s footsteps. Drawing on memory, legend, and his own art, Neel recounts his struggle to reconnect with his culture and become an accomplished Kwakwa_ka_’wakw artist. His memoir is a testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome great obstacles and to the power and endurance of Indigenous culture and art.Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming
By Antonio Michael Downing. 2021
The triumph of Saga Boy is the triumph of Blackness everywhere--the irrepressible instinct for survival in a world where Blacks…
are prey."--Ian Williams, Giller Prize-winning author of ReproductionAn enthralling, deeply personal account of a young immigrant's search for belonging and Black identity amid the long-lasting effects of cultural dislocation.Antonio Michael Downing's memoir of creativity and transformation is a startling mash-up of memories and mythology, told in gripping, lyrical prose. Raised by his indomitable grandmother in the lush rainforest of southern Trinidad, Downing, at age 11, is uprooted to Canada when she dies. But to a very unusual part of Canada: he and his older brother are sent to live with his stern, evangelical Aunt Joan, in Wabigoon, a tiny northern Ontario community where they are the only Black children in the town. In this wilderness, he begins his journey as an immigrant minority, using music and performance to dramatically transform himself. At the heart of his odyssey is the longing for a home. He is re-united with his birth parents who he has known only through stories. But this proves disappointing: Al is a womanizing con man and drug addict, and Gloria, twice abandoned by Al, seems to regard her sons as cash machines. He tries to flee his messy family life by transforming into a series of extravagant musical personalities: "Mic Dainjah," a punk rock rapper, "Molasses," a soul music crooner and finally "John Orpheus," a gold chained, sequin- and leather-clad pop star. Yet, like his father and grandfather, he has become a "Saga Boy," a Trinidadian playboy, addicted to escapism, attention, and sex. When the inevitable crash happens, he finds himself in a cold, stone jail cell. He has become everything he was trying to escape and must finally face himself. Richly evocative, Saga Boy is a heart-wrenching but uplifting story of a lonely immigrant boy who overcomes adversity and abandonment to reclaim his Black identity and embrace a rich heritage.Anything but a Still Life: The Art and Lives of Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak
By Nathan Greenfield. 2021
Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak shot to prominence as war artists during the Second World War. Marrying shortly after the…
end of the war, they moved first to Vancouver and then, in 1960, to Fredericton, where they settled permanently. Molly’s paintings were vibrant and colourful, featuring dynamic crowd scenes and wildflowers that seem to wave on the page. In contrast, Bruno painted near-abstract cityscapes, stunning landscapes, and distorted bodies wracked with inner torment, work that is unique in Canadian art.In this book, acclaimed author Nathan M. Greenfield brings to light the private and public lives of two of the most important figures in 20th century Canadian art. Combining archival research with Molly’s diaries and letters, interviews with friends and contemporaries, and an analysis of paintings by both artists, he develops an intimate portrait of their life and art: their critical acclaim, commercial success, and a turbulent marriage that lasted over fifty years.Flower Diary: In Which Mary Hiester Reid Paints, Travels, Marries & Opens a Door
By Molly Peacock. 2021
Mary fought for a place as a professional artist without having to live as a tragic heroine. She married George…
Reid, Canadian muralist, and while their relationship was more equal than most, this was still the Edwardian age. How do you find time to paint when you need to get to the market to buy a chicken for dinner?Letterman: the last giant of late night
By Jason Zinoman. 2017
A comedy critic for the New York Times examines the career of comedian and TV host David Letterman, especially his…
many years as host of two consecutive groundbreaking late-night TV shows. Includes interviews with Letterman and his collaborators. Some strong language. 201713 Stradomska Street: a memoir of exile and return
By Andrew Potok. 2017
Author describes his family's flight from the Nazi invasion of Poland, including his father's betrayal of the rest of them…
to save himself. Potok also recounts his battle to reclaim his family's home in Warsaw and his encounters with anti-Semitism in postwar Poland. Some violence and some strong language. 2017Painting in the dark: Esref Armagan, blind artist
By Rachelle Burk, Claudia Gadotti. 2016
Describes the life and career of Esref Armagan, a blind artist from Turkey. Esref spent his childhood days in his…
father's shop, where he developed a curiosity to create and draw. He even taught himself colors, shadows, and perspective. For grades 2-4. 2016Kid artists: true tales of childhood from creative legends (Kid Legends #3)
By Doogie Horner, David Stabler. 2016
Highlights unusual yet true stories from the childhoods of great artists. A young Leonardo da Vinci painted a Medusa head…
on a shield that couldn't be sold right away because it was too terrifying!For grades 3-6. 2016Peggy Guggenheim: the shock of the modern (Jewish Lives Ser.)
By Francine Prose. 2015
Author of Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 (DB 79323) profiles the life of modern art advocate Peggy Guggenheim…
(1898-1979). Discusses the influence of her Jewish heritage on her life; the artists she championed, including Jackson Pollock and Man Ray; and her at times chaotic personal life. 2015The Dirty version: on stage, in the studio, and in the streets with Ol' Dirty Bastard
By Mickey Hess, Buddha Monk. 2014
Musician and friend of Ol' Dirty Bastard, Monk--with English professor Hess--details the life of the cofounder of the Wu-Tang Clan.…
Details ODB's childhood in Brooklyn, his work with Wu-Tang Clan, his solo musical efforts, and the challenges he faced before his early death by drug overdose. Some strong language. 2014