Cobalt: A Mining Town and the Canadian Imagination

Franklin Carmichael, A Northern Silver Mine, 1930, oil on canvas, 101.5 x 121.2 cm, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 1971.9. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

May 29 to October 12, 2024

Cobalt, Ontario—some 500 kilometres north of Toronto—was established in 1904 following the discovery of rich silver, cobalt, ore, and nickel deposits. At peak production in 1911, Cobalt provided approximately one eighth of the world’s silver. In its heyday, the story of Cobalt was known around the world, and the town attracted miners, scientists, scholars, and of course, artists. This exhibition showcases the work of the artists who visited and documented Cobalt and its silver mines between the First and Second World Wars, after much of the natural resource deposits were depleted. Among them was a rising generation of Canadian modern painters which included Yvonne McKague Housser, Bess Larkin Housser Harris, Isabel McLaughlin, Frederick Banting, A.Y. Jackson, and Franklin Carmichael. These artists created works that depicted Canada as a new, modern industrial nation in step with the future—a contrast to the better-known works from this period that picture Canada as untouched wilderness. While some artists conjured Cobalt as a heroic bastion of industry and enterprise, others focused on the town’s grit and dishevelment. This exhibition and its accompanying publication will explore both sides of this dynamic relationship and shine new light on the settler relationship with the natural landscape.
 
Organized and circulated by McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Curated by Dr. Catharine Mastin

Love of Canadian Wilderness
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J.E.H. MacDonald (1873-1932), Sketch for The Solemn Land, c. 1919, Oil on Board. Collection of the Art Gallery of Algoma. Gift of Great Lakes Power Corporation.

​May 3 to October 12, 2024

​Love of Canadian Wilderness features artwork by the Group of Seven from the Art Gallery of Algoma's permanent collection. 

The Group of Seven in Canadian art history remains the most recognizable art group for over a century. One of their favourite places to paint and visit was Algoma and the shores of Lake Superior. This rugged landscape, mostly wild and untouched, remains to this day an inspiration to many contemporary artists.
 
The way in which the Group of Seven artists depicted Canadian landscape is still the image instilled in people’s minds when they think about Canada. It is a perception of stunning natural beauty, adventure in the wilderness, solitude, and admiration of nature. Algoma is a huge part of it. 

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