War Art in CanadaA Critical History

“Reflecting our cultural, military, political, and social evolution over thousands of years, war art in Canada documents, supports, protests, and questions the battles that our nation has fought and brings us closer to those involved.”

– Laura Brandon

The art created from conflict is exceptional in its diversity, and Brandon has assembled an arsenal of conflict-related cultural media, including posters, sketches, photographs, films, and sculptures. This comprehensive study showcases a stunning range of creators, such as A.Y. Jackson, Alex Colville, and Rebecca Belmore, and ventures far beyond the familiar narratives of Western battle painting by including Indigenous war art practices, passed down through generations in what we now call Canada. Ultimately, it provides new insights into our country’s deep and often disturbing relationship with combat.

Copyright Information

Banner Image: (top left) Rebecca Belmore, Ayum-ee-aawach-Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother, 1991. Collection of the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. (top right) Arthur Lismer, Sketch for Minesweepers and Seaplanes, 1917. Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa. (bottom left) Vernon March, The Response, National War Memorial, 1926–32. (bottom right) Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, 1770. Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.