A New Class of Art: The Artist's Print in Canadian Art, 1877-1920

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

This well-illustrated exhibition catalogue fills an important gap in
Canadian art history, which has focused on paintings. By the late 19th
century, printmaking had become the domain of craftsmen in the trade.
Inspired by the prints of Dutch old masters, European and North American
artists began to rediscover the medium. A New Class of Art is the first
to document “the etching revival.”

Struggling with institutional indifference and public apathy,
Canada’s printmakers re-created an art form and their own art
associations. A debut exhibition was organized by the Association of
Canadian Etchers in 1885. Slowly the artist’s print gained the
interest of collectors, dealers, art societies, and institutions. These
pioneers brought (in the contemporary phrase) “a new class of art”
to Canada.

Tovell’s text deals with pioneer efforts (1880–1900), international
connections (1877–1920), Toronto printmakers (1900–17), and the
national movement (1910–20). Her lively, well-documented writing
complements some 175 illustrations, which include many small archival
photos of the artists. Extensive notes, a lengthy bibliography, and an
index complete this impressive study.