A Gentler Time: English and Canadian watercolour landscapes and other works on paper from the Dorthy Ward Bequest

This exhibition of over 70 watercolour landscapes and prints selected from the Ward Bequest (part of the gallery’s permanent collection) provides a unique window on the relationship between the English and Nova Scotian art scenes in the late 19^th century and in the early decades of this century. Its slightly ironic title refers to the fact that the works reflect no hint of the darker aspects of the period – as if the golden scenes of haymaking or of tan-sailed luggers drifting off the coast would continue unchanged forever. The exhibition gives and especially clear picture of watercolour practices of the period, and shows the influence of the plein air art colonies that were developing at the time in Cornwall and Brittany, and of the Academies and ateliers in Antwerp and Paris. Curator Susan Gibson Garvey’s research on the 20 English and Canadian artists included in the exhition is presented in the accompanying illustrated catalogue. We are grateful to our sponsors: Woolfitt’s Art Enterprises, Rising Paper Company, Nova Scotia Digital Technologies Inc. and McCurdy Printing Ltd.