Emily Carr Country

by Emily Carr, Robert Bateman (Foreword), Courtney Milne (Photographer)

Though fame came late to Emily Carr, today she is hailed as a major and influential figure in the history of Canadian art and as a writer of unique and extraordinary talent. In this book, Courtney Milne has taken the best of Carr’s writing about the land she loved and has matched it to a stunning selection of his own photographs of the West Coast.

In a vigorous and colourful post-impressionist style, Emily Carr painted the vanishing native villages and totem poles of her beloved coastal British Columbia, and later in her career produced beautifully lyrical paintings expressive of the spirit and rhythms of Western forests, beaches, and skies. She also poured her talent into books about her life and art, her love of animals and nature, her frustrations and disappointments, her many sources of joy.

An annual visitor to the West Coast, Courtney Milne has been making photographs with the words of Emily Carr in mind for close to 20 years. To put this book together he has collected his favourite quotes from Carr and combed through many thousands of his photographs to find the perfect image to match a chosen piece of prose. The result is a spellbinding duet of text and pictures from two gifted and sympathetic artists.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2001

About the author

Emily Carr (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a post-impressionist painting style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until later in her life. As she matured, the subject matter of her painting shifted from aboriginal themes to landscapes, and, in particular, forest scenes. As a writer, Carr was one of the earliest chroniclers of life in British Columbia. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes her as a "Canadian icon".

Reviews

[Tracee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Emily Carr but I don't like people exploiting her name. I apologize if this wasn't the intent but I really get the feeling the author used Emily's name to promote his own photography.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

beautiful photography, but really caters to the upkeep of the fantasy of colonial Canadian history.