in drawing to a conclusion i come now to refer to a subject which is naturally embraced in an address intended to review the progress of culture in this country, and that is what should have, perhaps, been spoken of before, the condition of art in the dominion. as our public libraries[63] are small compared with those in the neighbouring union, and confined to three or four cities—montreal being in some respects behind toronto—so our public and private art galleries are very few in number and insignificant as respects the value and the greatness of the paintings. even in the house of commons, not long since, regret was expressed at the smallness of the dominion contribution, one thousand dollars only, for the support of a so-called national art gallery at ottawa, and the greater part of this paltry sum, it appeared, went to pay, not the addition of good paintings, but actually the current expenses of keeping it up. hopes were thrown out by more than one member of the government, in the course of the discussion on the subject, that ere long a much larger amount would be annually voted to make the gallery more representative of the best canadian art, and it was very properly suggested that it should be the rule to purchase a number of canadian pictures regularly every year, and in this way stimulate the talent of our artists. montreal at present has one fairly good museum of art, thanks to the liberality of two or three of her rich men, but so public spirited a city as toronto, which numbers among its citizens a number of artists of undoubted merit, is conspicuous for its dearth of good pictures even in private collections, and for the entire absence of any public gallery. in montreal there are also some very valuable and representative paintings of foreign artists in the residences of her wealthy men of business; but whilst it is necessary that we should have brought to this country from time to time such examples of artistic genius to educate our own people for better things, it is still desirable that canadian millionaires and men of means and taste54 should encourage the best efforts of our own artists. it is said sometimes—and there is some truth in the remark—that canadian art hitherto has been imitative rather than creative; but while we have pictures like those of l. r. o'brien, w. brymner, f. a. verner, o. r. jacobi, george reid, f. m. bell-smith, homer watson, w. raphael, robert harris, c. m. manly, j. w. l. forster, a. d. patterson, miss bell, miss muntz, j. pinhey, j. c. forbes, paul peel—a young man of great promise too soon cut off—and of other excellent painters,[64][g] native born or adopted canadians, illustrating in many cases, as do those of mr. o'brien notably, the charm and picturesqueness of canadian scenery, it would seem that only sufficient encouragement is needed to develop a higher order of artistic performance among us. the marquess of lorne and the princess louise, during their too short residence in the dominion, did something to stimulate a larger and better taste for art by the establishment of a canadian academy and the holding of several exhibitions; but such things can be of little practical utility if canadians do not encourage the artists who are to contribute. it is to be hoped that the same spirit of generosity which is yearly building commodious science halls, and otherwise giving our universities additional opportunities for usefulness, will also ere long establish at least one fine art gallery in each of the older provinces, to illustrate not simply english and foreign art, but the most original and highly executed work of canadians themselves. such galleries are so many object lessons—like that wondrous "white city" which has arisen by a western lake as suddenly as the palaces of eastern story—to educate the eye, form the taste and develop the higher faculties of our nature amid the material surroundings of our daily life. no doubt the creative and imaginative faculties of our people have not yet been developed to any noteworthy extent; the poems and paintings of native canadians too frequently lack, and the little fiction so far written is entirely destitute of the essential elements of successful and permanent work in art and literature. but the deficiency in this respect has arisen not from the poverty of canadian55 intellect, but rather from the absence of that general distribution of wealth on which art can alone thrive, the consequent want of galleries to cultivate a taste among the people for the best artistic productions, and above all from the existence of that spirit of intellectual self-depreciation which is essentially colonial, and leads not a few to believe that no good work of this kind can be done in mere dependencies.
the exhibition of american art at the world's fair is remarkable on the whole for individual expression, excellent colour and effective composition. it proves to a demonstration that the tendency is progressive, and that it is not too much to expect that a few decades hence this continent will produce a corot, a daubigny, a bonnat, a bouguereau or a millais. not the least gratifying feature of the exhibition has been the revelation to the foreign world—and probably to many canadians as well—that there is already some artistic performance of a much higher order than was believed to exist in canada, and that it has been adjudged worthy of special mention among the masterpieces that surround the paintings of our artists. this success, very moderate as it is, must stimulate canadian painters to still greater efforts in the future, and should help to create a wider interest in their work among our own people, heretofore too indifferent to the labours of men and women, whose rewards have been small in comparison with the conscientiousness and earnestness they have given to the prosecution of their art.
the opportunities which canadian artists have had of comparing their own work with that of the most artistic examples at the exhibition should be beneficial if they have made of them the best possible use. american and french art was particularly well represented at the exhibition, and was probably most interesting from a canadian point of view, since our artists would naturally make comparisons with their fellow-workers on this continent, and at the same time closely study the illustrations of those french schools which now attract the greater number of students from this country, and have largely influenced—perhaps too much so at times—the later efforts of some well-known painters among us. a writer in the new york nation has made some56 comparisons between the best works of the artists of france and the united states, which are supported by the testimony of critics who are able to speak with authority on the subject. the french notably excel "in seriousness of purpose and general excellence of work from a technical point of view, especially in the thorough knowledge of construction in both the figure and landscape pictures." on the other hand, the artists of the united states "show more diversity of aim and individuality of expression, as well as colour feeling." some two or three canadian artists give examples of those very qualities—especially in their landscapes—which, according to the new york critic, distinguish the illustrations of the art of the united states. as a rule, however, there is a want of individuality of expression, and of perfection of finish, in the work of canadian artists, as even their relatively imperfect representation at chicago has shown. the tendency to be imitative rather than creative is too obvious. canadian painters show even a readiness to leave their own beautiful and varied scenery that they may portray that of other countries, and in doing so they have ceased in many cases to be original. but despite these defects, there is much hope in the general performance of canadians even without that encouragement and sympathy which the artists of the united states have in a larger measure been able to receive in a country of greater wealth, population and intellectual culture.
not only does the exhibition of paintings in the world's fair make one very hopeful of the future artistic development of this continent, but the beauty of the architectural design of the noble buildings which contain the treasures of art and industry, and of the decorative figures and groups of statuary that embellish these buildings and the surrounding grounds, is a remarkable illustration of the artistic genius that has produced so exquisite an effect in general, whatever defects there may be in minor details. a critic in the july number of the 'quarterly review,' while writing "in the presence of these lovely temples, domes, and colonnades under the burning american sky which adds a light and a transparency to all it rests upon," cannot help echoing the regret that this vision of beauty is but for a season, and57 expressing the hope that some one of the american money kings "may perpetuate his name on marble, by restoring, on the edge of this immense capital, amid parks and waters, that great central square which, were it only built of enduring materials, would stand without a rival in modern architecture." perhaps the fine arts in the dominion—where sculpture would be hardly heard of were it not for the french canadian hébert—may themselves even gain some stimulus from the examples of a higher conception of artistic achievement that is shown by this exhibition to exist in a country where a spirit of materialism has obtained the mastery so long. canadian architecture hitherto has not been distinguished for originality of design—much more than art it has been imitative. in montreal and quebec the old buildings which represent the past have no architectural beauty, however interesting they may be to the antiquarian or the historian, and however well many of them harmonize with the heights of picturesque quebec. montreal is assuredly the most interesting city from an architectural point of view in canada, simply for the reason that its architects have, as a rule, studied that effect of solidity and simplicity of design most in keeping with the grand mountain and the natural scenery that give such picturesqueness to an exceptionally noble site. while we see all over canada—from victoria on the pacific to halifax on the atlantic[64a][h]—the evidences of greater comfort, taste and wealth in our private and public buildings, while we see many elaborate specimens of ecclesiastical art, stately piles of legislative halls, excellent specimens of gothic and tudor art in our colleges, expensive commercial and financial structures, and even civic palaces, yet they are often illustrative of certain well defined and prevalent types of architecture in the eastern and western cities of the united states. it cannot be said that canada has produced an architect of original genius like henry hobson richardson, who was cut off in the commencement of his career, but not before he had given the continent some admirable specimens of architectural art, in which his study of the romanesque was specially conspicuous, and probably led the way to a higher ideal which has reached some58 realization in the city which must too soon disappear like the fabric of a vision, though one can well believe that, unlike a dream, it will leave a permanent impress on the intellectual development of the people who have conceived an exhibition so creditable from a purely artistic point of view.
