Alex Janvier’s "The Seasons"

The Seasons, 1978, acrylic on canvas, by Alex Janvier, at the Canadian Museum of History

Sometimes you encounter art in unexpected places. I wasn’t aware of the fact that the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau (which also holds the Children’s Museum) is home to one of Alex Janvier’s major works: The Seasons.

In 1978, it was actually commissioned by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, as it was called then.

I first saw Alex Janvier’s impressive work in his retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in 2018. He was born in the Le Goff Reserve, Cold Lake First Nations, northern Alberta, in 1935, and is one of the most important aboriginal artists in Canada.

Another work by Alex Janvier on view at the Canadian Museum of History: Morning Star, which is installed in the dome of the Haida Gwaii Salon. This mural rises seven stories above the salon and covers 418 square-meters according to the museum’s web site.


Links:

https://www.alexjanvier.com/artist/

https://www.historymuseum.ca/morningstar/