Marilyn Jones | Emily Carr Chronicler

The Vancouver Art Gallery will open That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature, its largest presentation of the work of Emily Carr (1871–1945, Victoria, B.C.) in more than two decades in February 2026. Overlooked in her own time, Carr is now recognized as one of Canada’s most important artists, whose distinctive modernist vision has profoundly shaped how British Columbia’s landscape is perceived, understood and represented. That Green Ideal features work primarily…

In the early decades of the 20th century, Victoria’s artists lived in a world of informal networks and makeshift exhibition spaces. Schools, churches, and private homes became galleries by necessity, and the Island Arts and Crafts Society, founded in 1909, provided one of the few organized platforms for artists to display their work. Yet even in this close-knit community, opportunities for serious public engagement were limited. For Emily Carr, the city she called home…

In her autobiographical writing, Emily Carr was careful to portray herself in the tradition of the romantic individual by highlighting historical facts about herself that conformed to the modernist image of the artist as a professional and a genius, and downplaying those that did not. Born during a snowstorm, “contrary from the start,” she emphasized her difference from the rest of her family and insinuated that her “fondness for drawing” was not only viewed…