Virginia Berry - Vistas of Promise: Manitoba, 1874-1919

Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1988. Paper bound, oblong 8vo, illustrated throughout in colour and black and white, Pp88. Tight and clean - a very good or better copy. Near fine. 500 grams. From the author's introduction: In the period between 1874 and 1919 Manitoba was viewed as a region which offered golden opportunities for growth and development. In 1874 its area was so modest that it was called the postage stamp province. Physically isolated from the settled parts of Canada, it stood on the edge of the North West and acted as the gateway and administrative centre for the great undeveloped regions beyond. Vistas of Promise presents a contemporary visual record of the forty-five years when the province changed dramatically from a frontier society to a prosperous modern community, much larger than at first and with a capital ranked as Canada's fourth-largest city. The exhibition also documents a number of artists who have received little or no attention hitherto; it embraces the early years of well-known people such as Phillips and FitzGerald; and it follows the rise of art institutions as an integral part of Manitoba's culture. Because of the historical nature of the theme, the pieces included in Vistas of Promise vary in quality from the primitive to the accomplished and in medium from drawings, printings, and graphics to printed illustrations. All were created in the European tradition between 1874 and 1919 by Manitoba residents and visitors to the province. The two important fields of photography and native art await full-scale treatment on another occasion. Since it was generally held that art should be beautiful and inspiring, the artists have omitted the unpleasant and unconventional from their work. For this reason they present an edited picture of an era in which disappointment was inevitably mingled with attainment in the promising new country. We welcome all reasonable offers on our books.

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