For the first time, this book explores a new aspect of Monet's work: his fascination, during the 1870s, with bridges. French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the most popular artists of all time. His paintings of water lilies, haystacks, cathedrals, and much more are all celebrated and beloved. For the first time, this book explores a new aspect of Monet's work: his fascination, during the 1870s, with bridges. After moving to Argenteuil, a small town on the outskirts of Paris, Monet was drawn to the local footbridge near his house on the banks of the Seine. His painting of it, The Wooden Bridge, 1872, is a composition of startling modernity. The book begins with this work and explores Monet's use of the bridge motif from 1872 to 1877 in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war and beyond. Beautifully illustrated and published to accompany a major exhibition, the book explores how Monet sought to establish himself as a leader of the avant-garde and how his paintings of bridges played a pivotal role in this context. Focusing on twelve major paintings by Monet, the catalogue further examines the Impressionists' response to their ever-changing environment and the late nineteenth-century transformation of Paris and its suburbs. The publication consists of three sections featuring three essays followed by an illustrated chronology: Monet's use of the bridge as a testing ground for his innovative ideas, the role of photography, illustrations, and contemporary influences; the expansion of Paris and the urban cityscape; the role of Impressionism in the context of the Franco-Prussian war. Text in English and French.

Two wartime artists, one bustling harbour, and a city ravaged by the Halifax Explosion. Two perspectives on Halifax one year after the Explosion.A year after the city was devastated by the Halifax Explosion Harold Gilman (British, 1876-1919) and Arthur Lismer (Canadian, 1885-1969) were working in Halifax as war artists. Both commissioned by the Canadian War Memorials Fund to record the war activity on the home front, the two men struck up a friendship and worked side-by-side on occasion. Gilman seemed to wipe clean the desolation of the Explosion, ignoring the site of a human-made catastrophe in favour of a glowing landscape. In contrast, Lismer, a member of the Group of Seven, recorded the port's activity up close, producing a series of drawings and paintings of camouflaged battleships embedded in the Maritime landscape. With more than 30 reproductions and essays by Anabelle Kienle Poka, Lily Foster, and Sarah Fillmore, Halifax Harbour 1918 traces the artists' meticulous approach to their mission and their role during a critical moment in the history of Canadian landscape painting.Deux artistes en temps de guerre, un port anime et une ville ravagee par l'explosion d'Halifax. Deux perspectives d'Halifax un an apres l'explosion.En juin 1918, l'artiste Arthur Lismer (1885-1969) accepte une commande du Fonds de souvenirs de guerre canadiens (le Fonds) et se rend a Halifax pour documenter l'effort de guerre sur le front canadien et representer le port de cette ville a la suite de l'explosion d'origine humaine la plus meurtriere a survenir avant l'apparition des armes nucleaires. De son cote Harold Gilman (1876-1919), grande figure du groupe londonien Camden Town Group et seul artiste de guerre britannique envoye au Canada, est charge par le Fonds de peindre un grand tableau du port de Halifax pendant la guerre. Avec plus de 30 reproductions et essais d'Anabelle Kienle Poka, Lily Foster, et Sarah Fillmore, le port d'Halifax 1918 retracent l'approche meticuleuse des artistes a leur mission, les defis de travailler au lendemain de la tragedie et leur role au cours d'une moment dans l'histoire de la peinture de paysage canadienne.