Victorians can feast their eyes on a never-before-seen Emily Carr creation, recently donated to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV).
The untitled painting of Finlayson Point off Dallas Road was purchased directly from Carr by Bets Burchett, who had connected with the famous painter over a shared passion for dogs. The painting was handed down to their son Peter and his new wife Damaris Burchett as a wedding gift in 1958. The painting was hung over the fireplace mantle in their North Saanich living room after it was built in 1960, and there it stayed until their respective deaths in 2013 and 2019.
Now, thanks to the coupleB次元官网网址檚 sons Ian and Andrew Burchett, the painting hangs on the walls of the Victoria gallery, along with a second Emily Carr, two works from Group of Seven member Lawren S. Harris and others.
Also included in the gift to AGGV are works purchased by Enid Hendrie Owen, DamarisB次元官网网址� mother. Those paintings include Angidah Naas River by Emily Carr, Moutain Sketch LI and Mountain Sketch XCII by Lawren S. Harris, an untitled painting by Stanley Cosgrove and Village Street, Ste. Adele, OQ 1936 by Robert Wakeham Pilot.
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B次元官网网址淚t is with considerable pride that these artworks, which graced our family home, are now part of the AGGVB次元官网网址檚 collection B次元官网网址� an institution that clearly held a special place for our parents given their long association and various gifts over the years,B次元官网网址� the brothers wrote in a statement. B次元官网网址淭hese gifts span two generations on both sides of our family B次元官网网址� maternal and paternal B次元官网网址� and we hope that they can be enjoyed by others in the community and all visitors to the Gallery.B次元官网网址�
AGGV Director Jon Tupper said this is the first time these works are on display for the public.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very significant for us and very significant for the visitors,B次元官网网址� Tupper told Black Press Media. B次元官网网址淔or me personally, I love Emily Carr B次元官网网址� she painted with such loving care.B次元官网网址�
Tupper noted how iconic CarrB次元官网网址檚 portrayal of south Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 landscape is both for locals and all Canadians.
B次元官网网址淲e live in that landscape B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 ours, itB次元官网网址檚 us. Whether youB次元官网网址檝e been here three days or all your life, itB次元官网网址檚 for all of us,B次元官网网址� he said.
The AGGV also revealed that it was Peter and Damaris Burchett who, in the late B次元官网网址�90s, anonymously purchased CarrB次元官网网址檚 work Odd and Ends from the Greater Victoria Public Library collection as a gift to the AGGV, hoping the purchase would keep the painting in Victoria for the community to enjoy.
The AGGV first opened in 1951 in the historic Spencer Mansion, adjacent to its current exhibition galleries. The gallery boasts the largest collection in the province, with almost 20,000 works of art in its possession. A proposal for a new gallery received $6 million funding from the provincial government in June 2018.
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