I really enjoyed the contemporary art and Canadian art sections of the Gallery located on the first level. However, I was struck by how little a presence indigenous art played in the main Canadian portion of the Gallery. There was a small section of contemporary Aboriginal art amongst the main collection that showed a prominent Norval Morrisseau painting and a few other small works by Ontario based Indigenous artists.
This was paired with a small Inuit art exhibit that is tucked in the basement of the Gallery. The exhibit was well done and featured a number of stone carvings and stonecut prints from the 1960s onwards. The one thing that struck me about this particular exhibit was the lack of people looking at it. The rest of the galleries were fairly busy during my visit, but the Inuit exhibit was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. The signage to lead you down into the lower level where the Inuit exhibit isn't very prominent, so perhaps this contributed to the quietness.
One great experience I did have in the Canadian Art exhibit was participating in a Docent's Choice talk. These 10-minute talks occur multiple times daily and feature a Gallery volunteer discussing one piece of artwork from the National Gallery collection. Docent's Choice activities are free of charge with admission. The Docent's Choice activity I participated in focused on Graveyard Entrance painted by Emily Carr in 1912.
The volunteer who ran the activity spoke about the history surrounding a number of Emily Carr's works, Carr's role in the larger Canadian art scene, and her interactions with Indigenous people in Canada. The activity also included a closer examination of the motifs and techniques used in Graveyard Entrance. This talk was well done, interactive, and informative. I would recommend taking ten minutes out of your visit to the gallery to participate in a Docent's Choice activity. The talks are different every day and are a neat way to learn something beyond a text panel.
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