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Visual Arts
 Today, Alberta is home to a
significant and varied art scene, including some
of the most well-known and respected visual artists Canada has produced.
Each visual arts discipline has an extensive history in Alberta. The art of
ceramics, for example, began in the early 1900s at Medicine Hat, when many
companies took advantage of the clay deposits and the abundance of natural gas,
and opened up pottery manufacturing plants. Painting was a popular art form in this
province for hundreds of years. Painters have been vital to the history of Alberta because they have created lasting impressions of what the province
looked and felt like like many years ago. Painters in the
19th
century
painted or drew landscapes as geological studies or to document the wilderness
for clients like the railroad barons. Artists like John Fraser (1838-98) and Lucius O'Brien (1832-99) produced images of the Rocky mountains that continue to
shape our view of Alberta.
In the 1920s, Alberta was sparsely populated and considered to be an isolated
region by many artists. There were few arts
organizations, and only on rare occasions were art exhibitions held. By the 1930s, due to the increase in professional art instruction and the
formation of art societies, such as the
Alberta Society of Artists, the appearance of visual art created by
Albertans dramatically increased.
The growth of Alberta’s visual arts community in the past sixty years has
been due to the growth of educational institutions focusing on the arts. Art
schools like the
Banff Centre and the
Alberta College of Art and Design have helped promote visual arts in
Alberta, attracting the attention of art instructors from all over the world.
There also has been a growing number of art centres and
galleries throughout the province, allowing the public easier access to art. The
University of Lethbridge Art Collection is one of the most significant art
collections in the country, with over 13,000 pieces that span the
19th to 21st centuries.
Alberta has attracted artists such as Dr. Illingworth Kerr and A.C. Leighton
who were recruited to develop art school programs, such as those offered at the
Alberta
College of Art and Red Deer College. These schools and programs have evolved
into some of the most successful and respected arts education institutions in
the country.
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Heritage Community Foundation Presents
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