Marilyn Jones | Emily Carr Chronicler

The relationship between Max Stern and E. J. Hughes was one of the most consequential dealer–artist partnerships in Canadian art. Stern did much more than sell Hughes’s paintings like he did for Emily Carr. Instead he provided Hughes with the unusual security that allowed him to remain a private, almost reclusive artist on Vancouver Island while Stern built his reputation nationally. Read more: Emily Carr, Max Stern and…

Max Stern (1904–1987) was one of the most influential art dealers in Canadian history, but his path to Montreal and his relationship with Emily Carr were shaped by forces far beyond the Canadian art world. A German-born art historian, refugee from Nazism, collector, dealer and champion of modern art, Stern arrived in Canada after nearly two years of internment during the Second World War. Within a few years, he had transformed Montreal’s…

Nan Lawson Cheney (1897–1985) was one of Emily Carr’s closest friends, trusted correspondents, and earliest champions. Although she is less well known than Lawren Harris, Ira Dilworth, or Mark Tobey, Cheney played a significant role in promoting Carr’s work, organizing her annual solo exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery from 1937 – 1941, and preserving her legacy through their friendship, extensive correspondence, and later publications. Read more: Emily…