The Canadian National Gallery

Having met the relatives in Ottawa and (hopefully) made a good impression, the remainder of my time here is long enough for me to both have a good rest from work and also see some of the sights here. Having visited the parliament already, the next stop on the list of things to do (of which there are many, i should add) was the National gallery - a building of striking architecture situated on the banks of the Ottwawa river. Now, i'm no expert on art (by any stretch of the imagination)but, as with most things in life, i stand by the adage of 'I know what i like' - and there was a lot of that here in Ottawa. There is a large section of the gallery set over to the 'Group of Seven' a band of famous Canadian artists of the early 1900s who have some impressive paintings and a variety of styles. In addition to these, there is Tom Thompson (known was the 'Tom Toms') - who is said to have been a major factor in the forming of the Group of Seven - despite the fact he died in mysterious circumstances before they came in to being.

In addition to the permanent collection (of which there is some wonderful Monet - a favourite of mine), there was a special exhibition on Norval Morrisseau - a Shaman Artist (of native indian - or First Nation, as it is known here, descent). These paintings were very unusual being as they showed a lot of the spiritual aspects of the Anishnaabe (Ojibwa) culture (which, i confess, i found more interesting than some of the paintings themselves). What was particularly interesting were the artist' comments on the meeting of the First Nation and 'Western' cultures - particularly shown in one painting depicting an apparently happy meeting between European and Native American - but betrayed by the smallpox spots visible on the european - and creeping over the native and his child. Ultimately, the ever brightening colours (the artist believes that dramatic and bright colours are an essential part of his work) left me with something of a headache. Ultimately, lovers of all art will find something of interest in the gallery - for a reasonable price of $10.