Canadian Art and Artists Online Quiz | Art

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1. There are two Canadian artists, Christopher Pratt and Mary Pratt, who were married to each other for many years and have four adult children. They both attended a university known for its Fine Arts program, in the province that only one of them, Mary, called home at the time. Which university is this?

Answer: Mount Allison (New Brunswick)

Mount Allison or "Mount A" as it is often known, has an excellent Fine Arts program. It counts Alex Colville as one of its best-known graduates, along with both Pratts. Mount Allison is located in the town of Sackville, N.B., near the city of Moncton.

2. This painter lived and worked primarily in Nova Scotia, and was a very well-known Canadian artist. Perhaps his most iconic work, entitled "To Prince Edward Island", depicts a woman on a ferry who is holding up a large pair of binoculars, which obscure her eyes.

Answer: Alex Colville

Another Colville painting is one which depicts a somewhat uneasy horse, in a churchyard with a single headstone. The work is presumed to refer to John F. Kennedy's funeral cortege. Also from this era, there is a famous painting showing a horse and a locomotive speeding toward each other, seemingly on a collision course. The tension inherent in the image is almost unbearable to the viewer.

Later in his life (Colville died in 2013), he painted some very poignant and beautiful canvases featuring himself and his wife Rhoda Wright; they had been married since the start of World War II.

3. This woman is famous in Atlantic Canada and beyond, for her beautiful images of food, especially those involving the glowing colours of home preserves in mason jars. She was born in New Brunswick but has spent most of her adult life in Newfoundland. Her name is:

Answer: Mary Pratt

Mary Pratt's work has the distinction of being displayed in the National Gallery of Canada, in Ottawa. She was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but she settled in Newfoundland with her then husband, the artist Christopher Pratt, with whom she had four children.

She is usually claimed by Newfoundlanders as one of their own! She has painted many images besides food, such as snow from a snowblower, and bonfires.

4. This question concerns the great artist Christopher Pratt, whose work is as beloved as that of his former wife Mary. Which province claims Pratt as its own?

Answer: Newfoundland and Labrador

Christopher Pratt has achieved considerable success in his chosen field, having had many exhibitions at such prestigious showplaces as the national Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and The Rooms in St. John's, Newfoundland. His work tends to be cool and hyper-realistic, with images such as room interiors that rarely have people in them.

There is no apparent resemblance between the work of Christopher Pratt and his ex-wife, Mary Pratt.

5. An artist who comes from Newfoundland and Labrador, s/he is known for black and white representations of tragic scenes, and ghostly figures of the dead and the living. Who is this artist?

Answer: David Blackwood

In fact, Blackwood is probably more famous for his etchings, done in very dark colours, than for his paintings, which are somewhat brighter in nature.

Perhaps his most striking work is a print that portrays the ghosts of the Vikings who settled in Northern Newfoundland in the tenth century. They appear to be watching over twentieth-century fishermen.

6. Now we proceed to the West Coast of Canada. There was a woman who lived from 1871 to 1945, who ultimately became very well-known for her paintings of Native Canadian artifacts, particularly totem poles. She went on to a series of Impressionist-like studies of tall trees native to the area around Victoria, BC. What is this artist's name?

Answer: Emily Carr

Emily Carr pursued her art studies in Canada, and also in London and Paris; in Paris she met some of the later Impressionists, which undoubtedly influenced her work. She returned to Canada and lived and worked here for the rest of her life.

Besides subjects such as totem poles and trees, Carr also produced many self-portraits and became famous for her unique studies that emphasized a Japanese influence. Now there is an Emily Carr University of Art and Design (formerly the Emily Carr Institute) in Vancouver. This is a most prestigious place for young artists to study.

7. In the early years of the twentieth century, roughly 1920-1933, there existed in Canada a loosely-knit fraternity of artists, among them Lawren Harris and J.E.H. MacDonald. What were these artists collectively known as?

Answer: The Group of Seven

The Group of Seven worked in the earlier decades of the twentieth century. One very famous Canadian painter, who is often mistakenly counted as one of this group, is Tom Thomson. His iconic 'Jack Pine" is possibly the best-known art work in Canada. Thomson was closely associated with the Group of Seven before they began to use that name; sadly he died in 1917. The British Columbia artist Emily Carr was also closely connected with the group.

Paintings by all the members of the Group of Seven celebrated the beauties of nature. The Group of Seven's work is displayed at the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), as well as at other prestigious art galleries.

8. Tom Thomson was a young Canadian artist, mostly self-taught. He lived and worked in the province of Ontario. When he died suddenly, in 1917, he left a fairly large body of work behind him, that featured trees in the wild, often denuded of their leaves. His painting known as "The Jack Pine" is a very important Canadian artwork. How did Tom Thomson die?

Answer: drowning

At the age of twenty-seven, Thomson died and his body was found in Algonquin Park, in the province of Ontario. The official cause of death was drowning, but for a long time rumours of his possibly meeting with foul play continued to circulate.

9. This very popular Ontario artist is known internationally for his depictions of beautifully detailed wildlife, including birds, and large and small mammals.

Answer: Robert Bateman

Robert Bateman is well known both for his paintings of Canadian wildlife and African wildlife. He was one of the earliest Canadian artists to offer his works in limited edition prints, which greatly increased his pictures' accessibility for his many devotees.

10. There was a very gifted artist of Ojibwa heritage, who lived and worked in central Canada from 1944 to 1977. During this man's relatively short life, he produced many beautiful line drawings of birds and animals. What is this artist's name?

Answer: Benjamin Chee Chee

Most Canadians have seen the work this talented man produced, and regret how his life was cut so tragically short. Benjamin Chee Chee lived to the age of 37, and his death was a suicide. Reproductions of his paintings are readily available in Canada's art galleries; he achieved great posthumous fame.

Source: Author elmo7

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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Canadian Art and Artists Trivia Quiz

For its relatively small population, Canada has produced more than its share of really great artists. This quiz deals with some of them and with some of their paintings.

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