The Artist's Halifax: Portraits of the Town and Harbour Through 250 Years

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Selected works from the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia are grouped by
historical period to present a portrait of the nature and texture of
Halifax, as seen through the eyes of local and visiting artists. The
collection reproduces oils, watercolours, mixed-media works, etchings,
pencil drawings, and lithographs by more than 70 artists, spanning the
250 years from 1750 to the present. The subjects are portraits and
landscapes, street scenes, buildings, and even a bit of social life. As
in the city itself, the harbour, ships, and shipping dominate.

A brief commentary introduces the city at each of four broad historic
periods (1749–1810, 1811–1867, 1868–1918, 1919–1999), and a
caption introduces each piece of art with just enough information to
place it in the context of the city’s development at that point. A few
stray editorial comments enliven the text, which overall leans towards
the academic. Notes on the artists and technical details (size,
materials, etc.) of each piece of art add to the book’s value as a
reference work. Anyone interested in the history of Halifax will enjoy
rambling though this extensive collection.