Over the years, a vast body of literature has developed devoted to Canadian art and architecture. Until now that body of work has not been readily accessible to the researcher or scholar. This bibliography and reference guide identifies and summarizes thousands of books, article, exhibition catalogues, government publications, and theses published in many countries and in several languages from the early nineteenth century to 1981. The work encompasses, from the sixteenth century onward, artists who have come to Canada as immigrants or visitors, native born Canadian artists, and Canadian artists who have lived and worked abroad.
The 9555 entries in Volume I cover painting, sculpture, graphics arts, photography, decorative arts and fine crafts, architecture, Indian and Inuit arts, and related areas such as art education, arts policy, and collecting. The entries are presented chronologically under a series of topics and geographical designations. The work is bilingual; each bibliographic citation is followed by a descriptive annotation in the language of the original publication.
Volume II presents English and French subject indexes and an author index, which provide detailed access to information on thousands of artists, collectors, art historians, curators, and art writers, and to information on art associations, museums, and artistic activity across Canada.
These volumes fill a long-standing need for a comprehensive reference work for Canadian art and architecture. The annotations and the index are in themselves a veritable encyclopedia of art and architecture in Canada.
