Artwork by other artists

Art for art's sake

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 2833415)

Thunder Cape, Lake Superior, painted by William Armstrong, 1867.

(Library and Archives Canada Image, MIKAN No. 2894967)

Canoe Manned by Voyageurs Passing a Waterfall, 1869, Frances Anne Hopkins.

Santiago El Grande, 1957, Salvador Dali. Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

The Death of General Wolfe. Painted by Benjamin West in 1770. Oil on canvas, 152.6 x 214.5 cm (60 x 84.4 in). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Wolfe’s death in the battle to conquer Quebec in 1759 still resonated when West painted this work, its defining image. The men around Wolfe include portraits of fellow officers and representative types – enlisted soldiers, a settler in green, an Indigenous warrior. Pose, gesture and expression – ranging from stoic reserve to tears – eloquently tell the story. Unusually, West added carefully observed details of contemporary clothing and weaponry to anchor the scene in reality, and so connect to his audience. His goal was not to persuade viewers of the literal truth of his painting, but to move them to emulate Wolfe’s self-sacrifice. The canvas made the artist’s reputation. (National Gallery of Canada)

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