From Drawing to Visual Culture : A History of Art Education in Canada

A vivid picture of the evolution of art education in Canada from the nineteenth century to the present. From Drawing to Visual Culture takes a sweeping view of the role of visual art in Canadian education, from its roots as industrial drawing in the early nineteenth century to its important but often ambiguous position in contemporary schools. Art education and cultural history scholars consider practices in public schools, post-secondary schools, and non-school settings. The essays, many illustrated, range from focused surveys of particular eras or regions, to theoretically based analyses of movements or trends, to case studies that examine art education theory and practice in specific times and places. Contributors show that the nature and character of art education in Canada reflects the influence of ideas and practices in art and education and their interaction with various aspects of culture, language, religion, government, and geography. Contributors include F. Graeme Chalmers (British Columbia), Roger Clark (Western Ontario), Robert Dalton (Victoria), Suzanne Lemerise (Quebec à Montreal), E. Lisa Panayotidis (Calgary), Leah Sherman (Concordia), J. Craig Stirling (independent scholar and researcher, Montreal), Wendy Stephenson (PhD candidate, British Columbia), William Zuk (Manitoba). Contents Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Preface Contributors 1 Introduction 2 Learning to Draw at the Barrie Mechanics’ Institute 3 Postsecondary Art Education in Quebec from the 1870s to the 1920s 4 Postsecondary Art Education in Ontario, 1876–1912 5 The Dawn of the Twentieth Century: Art Education in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia 6 Modern Art and Child Art in Quebec: The Symbiotic Relationship between the Art Field and Child Art 7 Social Reconstruction, Visuality, and the Exhibition of Democratic Ideals in Canadian Schools, 1930–1950 8 More than an Improvement in Drawing: Art Learning in One Vancouver Secondary School, 1920–1950 9 Art Education in Ontario, 1950–2000: Unlimited Potential and Unfulfilled Promise 10 The Electronic Era: Radio and Television School Art Broadcasts in Canada Afterword Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z Offers a view of the role of visual art in Canadian education, from its roots as industrial drawing in the early 19th century to its important position in contemporary schools. This work contains essays, many illustrated, that range from focused surveys of particular eras or regions, to case studies that examine art education theory and practice.