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Virtual Museum of Canada

Galerie de l'UQAM

150 years 150 works

A woman with a blurred face is painting a picture on an easel. The turquoise form sketched on the canvas is the same colour as the artist’s shirt. Behind her are a vase, also turquoise, and picture frames leaning against the wall.

The frames of houses in ruins stand in a devastated landscape. The ravaged ground is marked by two large craters from exploding shells. The sky is black, orange and red.

Two cherubs are watching over a child lying on a bed and smiling it its sleep. One cherub is beside the bed, while the other hovers above it, shaking a rattle and gently touching the child’s stomach with a fingertip.

This painting shows three anchored ships profiled against a blue sky. Several figures are at work on the ship in the foreground, while two men and a woman converse on the wharf.

Linda is a white plaster statue of a woman standing with her bare feet firmly planted on the ground and her hands behind her back. She is wearing a simple dress and looking straight ahead with a determined expression.

This black-and-white photograph shows two naked children in a woodland pool, one standing, the other crouching. Their pale skin stands out against the dark setting. The blurred outlines of the surrounding objects create a quiet atmosphere.

This oil on canvas presents a spring landscape under a light blue sky. The centre of the picture is occupied by a dirt road lined with green- and yellow-leaved trees whose sinuous shadows streak the path.

This work is composed of two almost identical sheets of paper marked with a dot above the caption “Two Dots.” One dot is red and other is black. The fax transmission report appears at the bottom of each sheet.

A sculpture representing an Aboriginal family of four is installed in front of a neoclassical façade. A man stands at the centre, gazing into the distance. On the left, a woman with a child crouches at his side. On the right, a boy is about to loose an arrow from his bow.

In the foreground, a scraggy evergreen rises up in silhouette, slightly to the right of centre. In the receding grounds, a lake and mountains executed in broad, flat brushstrokes appear in twilight. The vast sky is tinted in shades of blue, orange and green.

This photograph shows a woman looking at the camera. Behind her is a painting of a mountain partially covered in snow.

The central element of this landscape is a broad-branched evergreen that occupies the upper half of the painting. In front of the tree is a mound of white rocks surrounded by bushes. A woman and a man are sketchily rendered in the lower right corner.

Two female figures stand face to face in a Northern landscape. The one on the left, wearing a colourful striped coat, shows a drawing to the other, who is wearing a black dress with white polka dots and holding a similarly patterned snake.

A black-and-white photograph shows a plywood façade seen from an angle. The structure is supported from behind by scaffolding. Cars are driving by in the foreground while skyscrapers appear in the background.

In this autumn scene set on a mountain lake, a log cabin is perched on a rocky point. Moored at a wooden dock is a scale model of the CF-105 Arrow, retrofitted as a sea plane and bearing the Royal Canadian Air Force roundel.

This work shows three canoes gliding across a lake toward the horizon in a diagonal that stretches from the left foreground to the right background. Shrouded in a haze of mist, the farthest two canoes cast indistinct shadows.

Dans cette photographie en noir et blanc, une danseuse vêtue d’une robe sans manches exécute une chorégraphie au bord d’une rivière, pieds nus dans le sable. Ses jambes sont écartées et ses bras soulevés de manière à former un « X ».

In a large gallery, the gigantic skeleton of an unidentifiable marine mammal is suspended from the ceiling. The sharp edges of the “bones” reveal that they are made of pieces of plastic chairs.

This black-and-white photograph shows a woman in overalls with her hair wrapped in a kerchief. Seated on a table, she is smoking a cigarette while gazing at a Bren machine gun. A factory building is visible through the window behind her.

Two nude young children are warming themselves in front of a fireplace, arms stretched toward the heat. They are on an Oriental hearth rug, one sitting and the other standing. Warm tones radiate from the fire, colouring the children’s skin.

This monumental oil is composed of three vertical panels set side by side. Small patches of red, burgundy, white, yellow and blue fill the canvas to form a large mosaic of colours.

The subject of this rural scene is a shepherd working in a stretch of choppy water in the foreground. The trees on either side cloak his activity in heavy shadow. The middle ground is occupied by a flock of sheep and two men.

A bear is painted on a conical hat woven from spruce roots. The flat top suggests the animal’s muzzle. The eyes, ears and forepaws are spread around the wide brim.

This photograph shows the four flights of a spiral staircase seen from the top. The landings have checkerboard-patterned floors. The structure is supported by stacked white columns seen on the right.

Tall trees rise in a winter landscape. The light mottles the snow with bluish and yellowish highlights. Seen from a distance, a man with a whip is urging on a draft animal pulling a load of logs.

This image taken from the film shows a landscape tilted at a 145-degree angle. The horizon and a bit of clear sky are compressed into the bottom left corner. The rocky ground occupies most of the image.

Fifty-five thousand little signposts are fixed on a large platform. A different word is glued onto each one. The words, cut out of a dictionary, are in alphabetical order.

The word AIDS is painted in blue on a square red-orange canvas hanging on the back wall of a ceiling-lit room. On the left and right walls are two paintings of the word in other colours. Wallpaper with the same design in different colours covers the walls and part of the ceiling.

This drawing shows thirty-four men gathered in a large room, each depicted in great detail. The yellowed paper, lack of colour and roughly sketched back wall suggest that it is a preparatory drawing for a finished work.

This painting shows many women outlines in conversation seated on chairs. Their tangled bodies are made up of various facets defined by small lines of yellow, pink, red, orange, blue, green, purple and black.

Bordered by green pastures, a sand-coloured road stretches toward a black hill rising on the horizon. Three cows trudge along under a sky darkened by a looming storm.

This colour photograph shows the base of a monument with Champlain’s name carved in relief. A canoe made of cereal boxes is perched on a ledge, and the man sitting in it wears a headdress made of the same material.

Cette photographie en noir et blanc présente, dans la partie gauche, une femme assise dans un fauteuil. Un lit se trouve dans la partie droite de l’image et une bibliothèque en arrière-plan couvre la surface du mur.

This abstract painting presents a complex composition and a diverse visual vocabulary. Large areas of flat blue, black, white and grey of varying density mix with sharp-edged shapes, straight and curved lines, small chevrons and a few clusters of hatching. The outlines are blurred in some places, distinct in others.

This horizontal mural in tones of yellow and ochre depicts a man, seen from the back, reaching toward a radiating hexagon at the centre of a spiral. Round and polygonal translucent forms revolve around the central motif.

The title “Refus global” is handwritten vertically in red ink on the title page of a book pamphlet. It is visible between the half-open flaps of the cardboard cover, which are decorated with non-figurative motifs in black and white.

This small gilt-bronze decorative object depicts a reclining man leaning on a lyre. Near him lies a nude woman with her head thrown back. Between them is a hollow designed to hold ink.

On the right side of this painting, a group of men is standing on a platform. One of them is addressing a large crowd, with one armed raised. Waving Patriote flags, the crowd occupies the left side of the composition.

This hand-drawn map represents North and Central America, but without the United States. Mexico occupies all of North America up to a shared border with Canada. The country names are written in uppercase letters.

This photograph shows two white-painted walls of an empty room. Projected squares of light forming two grids illuminate the lower part of one wall.

This black-and-white engraving shows black poles standing on a hill with figures grouped among them. A mountainous landscape looms in the background while the long shadows of the poles and figures occupy the foreground.

This rectangular textile work is made of pieces of fabric stitched together like a quilt. Against the checkered background, brightly coloured letters spell out the words “Reason over passion.”

This black-and-white photograph shows two women in the doorway of a log cabin covered in snow. They are seen through a narrow opening in the snowdrift.

This painted photograph represents a crowd gathered on an immense skating rink. Garlands and flags of different countries hang from the ceiling. Several public figures well known at the time appear among the 150 costumed skaters photographed by Notman.

This black-patinated bronze sculpture represents a canoe crowded with thirteen figures. The angled photo shows seven of them: a raven, two men, a wolf, an eagle, a frog and a bear. The sculpture sits in a shallow pool.

In the foreground of this painting, three dead trees stand erect in front of brownish rocky masses. Beyond, the horizon line separates the blue sky layered in white and grey clouds from the smooth surface of the darker blue lake.

This gilded statue represents a bearded man wearing a crested warrior’s helmet. The figure is holding a long trident in his left hand. A ship’s wheel stands behind his right leg.

This colour photograph shows three people lounging under trees in a backyard. One woman is sitting on the ground near a chair, while another is lying in the grass. A man sitting apart from them is reading a book.

This hand-coloured, high-contrast black-and-white photo shows three women bust-length, facing the camera. Their hair is done up and they are wearing showy makeup. The background is neutral white.

At the left of the painting, two women are strolling along the waterfront in Venice. They are next to an awning-covered terrace, beyond which a sailboat and a gondola are visible on the lagoon.

In this seaside scene, two women dressed in white and blue sit in the shade of a tent. In the background, a beach dotted with a few figures and birds stretches to a sliver of ocean.

This view from inside a starkly bare kitchen shows an open doorway giving onto a balcony and a winter cityscape. However, the reflection in the glass door panes shows a springtime scene, where a little girl sits surrounded by greenery.

This photo shows a section of the exhibition Body Missing, by Vera Frenkel. Several lightboxes are arranged in a room whose walls and floor are made of wide wooden planks. A video monitor sits on two stacked crates.

Two figures appear in the foreground. On the left, a woman in a blue dress and red cape gazes down at a white-robed angel kneeling at her feet. A field of colourful flowers spreads across the background.

Captured from the riverbank, this landscape shows a luminous sunrise through a morning mist on the Saguenay fjord. Two ships are discernible in the distance, and small boats float at the foot of steep cliffs in the left half of the composition.

A man cowers on a snow-covered plain with his left arm outstretched in a protective or pleading gesture. At the left, a hazy figure walks toward the edge of the frame, ignoring the prostrate man.

This photograph shows a dress made of slabs of raw beef stitched together hangs on a woman.

Eight people are standing in two rows. Each one is holding a sheet of paper. A man seen from the back is directing the group. Behind him is a camera.

This photograph shows a square of cloth patterned in red and orange. The abstract motifs stand out through a tangle of twisting lines and shapes.

This brightly coloured painting shows a man attired in Native and European garments and ornaments. He is represented half-length and looks directly at the viewer. Behind him are a forest of evergreens and mountains.

A sepia-toned drawing shows soldiers gathered around a wounded man on the ground. A half-naked Native brave with accoutrements tinged in red and blue is crouched at the man’s feet. The drawing is flanked by rectangles, blue on the left and red on the right, like a tricolour flag.

This work is composed of 426 small painting mounted on a wall in a way that suggests a series of woven placemats. On each painting are handwritten words overlaid with spots and checkered motifs in varied light and dark shades.

This painting shows a landscape with rocky ground. At the centre of the composition, tall green pines soar against a deep blue sky scattered with white clouds.

Under a blazing sun, men, women and children, most of them white, appear to be waiting. They are surrounded by suitcases and crates of personal items. The way they are dressed recalls the 1970s.

In this photo, a low platform holds an assemblage of metal objects, taxidermy animals and artificial plants. A male mannequin dressed in a suit stands on a raised platform. Its head has been replaced by a cast rooster head.

This work is divided into three parts. The centre panel pictures three boys on a low wall, two sitting and one lying down. Two smaller side panels show trees whose branches stretch into the centre panel.

This photograph shows a round and white sculpture on a wooden base. The surface is a little bumpy.

A woman is lying prone on a divan in a long white dress that spreads across the lower left side of the painting. Her face is bathed in the yellow-orange glow of a lamp and a few candles on a table.

This painting depicts a river whose waters reflect a golden-yellow and orange sky. The snow along the riverbanks is tinged with mauve and blue. In the distance, hazy buildings are visible on a snow-covered hill.

This low-angle image taken from a film shows a man, in three-quarter back view, riding a bay horse. He is wearing a cowboy hat and has a guitar slung across his back. In the background, rocky hills rise along a river.

This painting portrays a black woman turned three-quarters to the right and looking in that direction. Simply dressed in an orange top and blue jacket, she stands out against a solid turquoise background.

This work is composed of two photographs side by side. The colour picture on the left shows framed photos on a wall above a dresser. The black-and-white picture on the right shows a pensive man in an armchair, to the right of the dresser.

This painting shows two salmon fillets lying on sky-blue plastic wrap. The ribbed flesh of the fish is reproduced with an abundance of detail and gleams in vivid tones of red and orange.

A tornado represented as a large oblique streak occupies the centre of the painting. The deep black of the funnel contrasts with the pale yellow, pink and mauve masses that compose the background. The plywood support is gouged with hatches and grooves.

Pairs of military boots arranged in rows are suspended on black strings. The right-foot boots, raised slightly off the floor, create the impression of troops marching.

In the foreground of this painting, a woman on a ferryboat is looking straight toward the viewer through binoculars. A man is seated behind her on a bench. In the background, we see a large lifeboat, calm water and the cloud-studded sky.

A black woman in a Canadian Army uniform is facing forward, her arms crossed. On the counter in front of her are two pieces of fruit, two doughnuts, bottles, cups and glasses. Behind her are canteen shelves stocked with provisions.

This oil painting depicts cattle in the foreground of a mountainside landscape. The lush green grass contrasts with the cloudy blue sky and the turquoise water of the lake in the background.

This photograph shows a bed with a pile of blankets, a cast figure of a dog and an army helmet. At the foot of the bed are shelves stocked with non-perishable items. The walls are lined with fiberglass insulation.

Various elements are spread out on a wooden table: a charcoal drawing on yellowed paper, paint brushes in a glass of water, tubes of paint, a compass and a bust. In the background is a painting of a group of women.

The upper left area of this otherwise dark photograph shows a white screen with the shadows of three stick puppets – one female and two male. They are acting out a scene around a chair.

This close-up painting depicts a forest floor of tangled rocks and tree trunks in the foreground. The composition is so close to abstraction that it is difficult to discern a landscape in the winding green lines and areas of flat black, grey and white.

Three puppets – a policeman, a labourer and a banker – are at the top of a red structure at the centre of the composition. A man with a drum is narrating the show to the dense crowd of spectators. The scene is set on a square surrounded by steeply tilted buildings.

A mirror reflects the face of a man with his back to the viewer. Hand raised and lips parted, he is making up his right eye. Next to him, a television shows footage of a highway shot from a moving car.

This abstract painting shows rectangular blocks of different sizes assembled together. The large forms are painted in dark, predominantly blue-green tones, while the small ones create a contrast in lighter shades of orange and pink.

A cart mired in mud occupies the centre of this painting. It is piled with corpses. Farther back, a man leaning on a shovel stands near a row of white crosses.

A grid is hand-drawn in pencil on a square, ochre-coloured canvas. Most of the grid, which mirrors the proportions of the canvas, is filled in with white dots.

This rectangular coverlet is made of irregular pieces of fabric stitched together with white and coloured thread using traditional quilting techniques. It is embroidered with various motifs (swan, flowers, maple leaves) and names.

In Homage to Webern No. 1 is a monochromatic white print on which fine white and grey lines stand out. Three small squares are arranged horizontally at the bottom of the print, slightly off-centre to the right.

This poster for a short film shows a worker cranking a machine. The film’s title, The Labour Front, is written in white capital letters in the lower half of the poster, beneath the image.

This colour photograph of an urban setting shows building façades covered in graffiti. A man dressed all in black, his face blurred, is preparing to throw something toward the camera.

$This watercolour pictures a carved eagle in profile on top of a totem pole. The blue sky behind the bird is fractured into flat geometric shapes. A few equally schematized trees appear at the lower right.$

This photo shows tourists walking in front of a large mural of stylized animals painted diagonally on a trapezoidal wooden wall. A serpent surges above a wolf, a killer whale and a spread-winged eagle gripping its prey.

This calendar cover depicts a maple tree with black leaves that occupy the upper half of the image. The title “Ninety Eight,” framed by red plant motifs, stands out against the foliage. In the lower half, a sun and its rays fill the background.

This painting depicts a winter scene set on the edge of a public square. In the foreground, three fur-clad men are gesturing in front of a man and a woman. Other figures are going about their business in the background.

Une femme partiellement dénudée vue de dos est allongée sur le côté sur une surface recouverte d’un drap blanc. Une grande cicatrice, d’où pendent des fils de perles rouges, lui traverse le dos en diagonale. La photo est présentée dans une boite lumineuse.

This photo shows a view of fourteen white glass-fronted rectangular boxes placed side by side. Inside them are wooden sticks wrapped in white string. The boxes are propped against a white wall.

This photo shows a black stone carving of a woman holding a white drum and carrying a child on her back. The two faces are highly expressive.

This painting depicts a large cargo ship alongside a dock. It is flanked by two tugboats. The sky is overcast, but rays of light piercing the clouds reflect in the harbour’s greenish water.

Copper-skinned people wait in line in the doorway of a gloomy cabin. Seated at the left of the composition, a white man is measuring out a ration of flour.

A woman in a tank top and shorts is sitting on the bank of a lake or river, facing forward. She is surrounded by violet and bluish rocks. Her knees are spread apart and her feet are crossed. A small plant is growing near her feet.

This black-and-white print shows a shore where a canoe is drawn up. Behind the canoe, a man stands looking into the distance. At the left, his companion crouches near a fire, smoking a pipe. Beyond him is a forest.

This photograph shows an immense illuminated sculpture in the shape of a cross rising above an urban landscape. Within the cross, the vertical word “East” and the horizontal word “Van” intersect at the letter “A.”

Cette photographie montre un morceau de tissu qui reprend les dimensions d’une feuille de format lettre. Le tissu est entièrement brodé de perles rouges et blanches. Les perles blanches forment des lignes horizontales à la manière d’un texte sur un fond de billes rouges.

Six black-and-white portraits of a smiling long-haired woman are arranged in two rows. The first one remains untouched, while the others are progressively coloured with makeup: foundation, then eye shadow, blusher, eyebrow pencil and lipstick. The final face, at lower right, is completely made up.

A sad-eyed little girl is seated on a chair, facing forward. Except for the dark brown of the child’s bobbed hair and large eyes, the painting is almost monochromatic, in tones of blue, pink and mauve.

This photograph shows a white, egg-shaped capsule large enough to hold a seated person. The front and back separate to afford access to the leatherette-lined interior. There is a seat at the back.

This black and white photo shows the inside of a movie theatre where a film is projected. The close-up of a face appears on the screen.

The black silhouettes of three men occupy the foreground of a large horizontal composition. A white building and an orangey sky are in the background. One figure stands at the left while the other two are at the right, leaving the centre empty.

This genre scene represents a traditional French-Canadian house flanked by a blacksmith’s shop. On the left, horse-drawn sleighs are arriving. Another is stopped in front of the house. A man is leading his horse into the forge, and several people are hurrying toward the house.

This two-panel mosaic includes thirteen photographs in plastic laminate. The images on the left are of sliced bread, women hanging from cords, a man sitting in a chair and a little girl drawing with chalk. Those on the right show people masked or made-up.

This collage is composed of diverse elements that include portraits, a newspaper article, a few segments of text and numerals. They are arranged on a background of red, yellow and pink masses.

This photo shows an immense white stone monument framed against a blue sky. At the left, two pillars on a vast rectangular base soar nearly 40 metres above the ground. A number of smaller allegorical sculptures adorn the monument.

This non-figurative painting features areas of flat black, brown and white. The dark masses concentrated in the lower portion stand out from the textured white surface. A small black patch appears near the top.

At the heart of a lush forest, a humble little church in shades of cream occupies the centre of the image. Pink and violet fluorescent forms float above the structure, with two small interventions placed in the lower right area.

Bundled up in warm winter clothes, seven people, young and old, are clustered in front of a painting of a sunlit landscape. The rest of the wall is covered with winter landscapes. Two abstract sculptures are also on display.

This still life painting depicts three glistening fish, a pear, an apple and two dark blue vases. They are set against a white and turquoise background.

Two men are shown side by side. The one on the left is kneeling, with his right hand on his heart. The one on the right, wearing a blue cloak that hides his military uniform, is seated on a wooden bishop’s chair, looking down at the kneeling man.

Two identical women are having tea in a Victorian decor. The one on the left is pouring, while the other looks toward the viewer. Behind them, a third identical woman is reaching out of a picture frame to pour cream on the head of the woman at the right.

Four great elms with luxuriant foliage fill nearly the entire surface of this painting. At the foot of the trees are two small traditional green-roofed white houses. A white horse is pulling a hay wagon toward them.

This sculpture made of wire and copper-tubing represents a slumped human body bristling with spike-like projections. It stands on a wooden base.

This painting presents four forms on a white background. A large brown mass and a smaller yellow one occupy the upper half of the canvas, while two bands, one blue and one red, zigzag across the lower half.

This painting shows a girl seated on a wooden chair, holding a cat in her lap. The chair is set against a wall, and there is a closed door at the right of the picture.

This black-and-white etching presents a view of the Grand Canal in Venice bordered by Gothic, classical and Baroque architecture. In the distance, a gondola glides along the water.

This painting portrays a succession of empty rooms. Some of the walls are depicted in sweeping brushstrokes, while others are coloured like patterned wallpaper. In the background, beyond an open doorway, a balcony and a tree are visible.

This poster shows two men standing side by side. The one on the left is costumed as a giant peanut wearing a top hat. The one on the right is dressed in black, with his arms raised as if greeting a crowd.

Four painted panels assembled side by side depict the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant. The two almost identical black masses stand out against a leaden sky. They loom above treetops that form a low horizon line.

Three women wearing naked-muscle-man bodysuits and fright wigs are flaunting giant fake guitars. Standing spread-legged and pumping their right fists, they are imitating a rock band giving a show. Their faces are contorted in rebellious victory.

Three dozen men are gathered in a large room. Each one is portrayed in great detail. In front of them, a long-haired man wearing nothing but stiletto heels lounges on a Hudson’s Bay blanket draped over a box. He is looking at the others, with one arm raised.

This painting depicts coloured prisms whose strong diagonal lines create an impression of movement and depth. Three pyramids in shades of red and orange appear at the lower right of the image.

This photograph shows seven puppet-like puppet-like figurines made of bits of paper and fabric and mounted on metal rods. They are displayed on white blocks arranged to form a long procession.

This photograph shows a porcelain kitchen sink in close-up. In the sink are a plate, a cup, a cream pitcher, a knife and two glass bottles. The spout of a metal teakettle at the right of the photo counterbalances the metal faucet in the upper left corner.

This painting shows a mother sitting on the edge of a bed, watching over her sleeping child. The mother is cast in shadow, while the child is bathed in white light. A book and a pharmacy bottle can be seen on the bedside table.

In the foreground, a peaceful river is bordered by trees in autumn colours. Four figures in groups of two appear on the right bank. In the background, mountains with rounded peaks fill the horizon beneath a cloudy sky.

This black-and-white photograph presents an oblique view of a multistory building with large dark windows. The tight framing reveals only part of the architecture, whose structure occupies the entire surface of the image.

A large white backward-Z-shaped polygon zig-zags across the painting from lower left to upper right. The other two corners are occupied by black geometric shapes, a vertical rectangle and an unequal-sided quadrilateral. The arrangement of the masses and lines creates a balanced composition.

his close-up representation of a hockey mask is composed of large areas of flat white, red and blue. Drips of paint create rhythm on the surface of the canvas.

A woman is seated at a kitchen table surrounded by household objects including a telephone, an iron and a bouquet of flowers. She is sewing a banner while looking through a window at two men in conversation outside.

Red-coated British soldiers are guarding a group of naked people waiting amid crates and bags, as a smaller group is escorted to anchored ships. The background shows the ocean and ships at the left and a coastal landscape at the right.

A cluster of electric blue trees stands on rough red ground. An orangey sky is visible through the intertwined branches that occupy nearly the entire picture.

A bearded man at the centre of the composition is grappling with a serpent coiled around his arms and legs. The two smaller figures flanking him are also in the reptile’s grip. The drawing is composed of lines and cross-hatching.

This larger-than-life-size portrait represents a nude woman in a standing pose with hips slightly tilted. The model is wearing makeup and green sandals. Her head and bust mask a portrait set on an easel behind her.

This black-and-white photograph shows a jumbled heap of ice slabs in the foreground. Buildings in Montréal’s harbour appear in the background.