Douglas & McIntyre

Arctic spirit; Inuit art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum.

A selection of the Inuit art collection of E. Daniel and Martha L. Albrecht, based in the Heard Museum in Phoenix, is the subject of this handsome oversized (9.75x11.25 inches) catalog, which was published to accompany a traveling exhibition. Expanding beyond description, the entries that accompany each work of art contain lengthy commentary by the work's artist, making this an unusually rich resource for the contemporary art and people of Canada's Arctic. An introductory section discusses the larger context of Inuit art and includes prehistoric examples, also from the Albrecht Collection. The volume is illustrated with copious color plates of the best quality. Distributed in the US by PGW/Perseus. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Emily Carr; new perspectives on a Canadian icon.

The Vancouver Art Gallery (celebrating its 75th anniversary) and the National Gallery of Canada collaborated to create the eponymous exhibition, which opened in 2006, and is scheduled for several venues during 2007. This book presents scholarly essays by the three curators (Ian M. Tom, Charles C. Hill, and Johanne Lamoureux) and seven contributors, who discuss Carr's life, work, influences, and formidable impact on art and imagination in Canada. Over 150 of Carr's paintings (and, also, some rugs and pottery) represent the years 1900 through 1927, and showcase her involvement with native peoples and the environment of the northwest coast of British Columbia, as well as with contemporary colleagues and the larger art world. Offering visual context, the elegantly prepared volume, which measures 10x11 inches, also contains another 150 or so images, including photos and some images of work by other native artists. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Hundreds and thousands; the journals of Emily Carr. (reprint, 1966; new intro.)

In 1927, after decades of working in obscurity, Canadian painter and writer Emily Carr was invited to participate in an exhibition at the National Gallery. During her cross-country journey to the exhibition, she began recording her experiences, thoughts, and emotions — a practice she would continue throughout most of the rest of her career. This reprint of a volume originally published by Clarke, Irwin & Company in 1966 presents Carr's journals along with a new introduction by Gerta Moray (art history, U. of Guelph). (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)