Canadian War Museum launches new exhibition The Navy: A Century in Art

Posted on: 11/11/2010

Canadian War Museum launches new exhibition
The Navy: A Century in Art

Ottawa, Ontario, November 9, 2010 — To mark the Centennial of the founding of the Canadian navy, the Canadian War Museum will open on Thursday, November 11 an exhibition of paintings from its unparalleled Beaverbrook Collection of War Art. Some 40 of the best works of art portraying the Canadian naval experience from the First World War to the present relate the story of the Canadian navy in a visual, engaging way.

The exhibition, The Navy: A Century in Art, created specially to mark this important anniversary, has traveling across Canada, and was shown in Calgary at The Military Museums earlier this year and presented at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax this past summer. The exhibition has already been seen by more than 85,000 visitors.

“This exhibition is a testament to the important and diverse roles fulfilled by the Canadian navy over the past century,” said Mark O’Neill, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. “It allows us to share lesser-known, but spectacular works from the Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, as well as to participate in such an important Canadian anniversary.”

Some of Canada’s finest artists have captured the Canadian naval experience in times of war and peace — from dramatic depictions of the Battle of the Atlantic to intimate portraits of life at sea and ashore. Their works show us the human face of this experience, while helping to illuminate the important role that the navy has played in Canadian history for the past 100 years. This exhibition features paintings from both official and unofficial war artists, including Arthur Lismer, Alex Colville, Harold Beament, Donald C. Mackay, Anthony Law, Ted Zuber and Pegi Nicol MacLeod.

The oceans that surround Canada on its Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts have protected our nation from external threats, and connected it to global conflicts. This dual role — security at home and service abroad — has defined the Canadian navy for more than a century. The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections: A Canadian Navy; The Navy at Sea; The Navy’s Wars; and Legacy.

The War Museum also took advantage of the event to launch a new website exploring the navy’s first one hundred years. 
warmuseum.ca/navalhistory

High resolution images of works featured in the exhibition, in addition to backgrounders on the exhibition and the Beaverbrook Collection of War Art are available online
https://media.historymuseum.ca/2010/navy_e.htm

Media Information:

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Canadian War Museum
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Canadian War Museum
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Fax: 819 776-8623