Should Emily Carr Have a Room of Her Own?

When Lawren Harris, a founding member of the Group of Seven, first asked Emily Carr about her plans to distribute her paintings following her death, she allegedly replied: “Give them to the old folks’ home. I suppose they would put them in the basement, and there they would rot.”

Concerned for the future of Carr’s important body of work, Harris created the Emily Carr Trust Collection with help from Carr’s friend and literary executor, Ira Dilworth. Given that her hometown of Victoria did not have a major public art institution at the time, Carr chose the Vancouver Art Gallery to safeguard her trust following her passing.

Fifty works were selected by Carr for the trust, but following her passing in 1945, Harris added to the selection for a total of 173 works, which became the Trust Collection. Today, the gallery’s Emily Carr collection amounts to more than 250 pieces and is the most significant holdings of her work in the world.

Last month, the gallery announced it would be launching a new, yearlong exhibition, featuring a singular room filled with works by Carr. Aptly titled Emily Carr: A Room of Her Own, the exhibition delves into Carr’s legacy, exploring the deep connection between the artist, her work and the gallery through a selection of oil paintings and rotating works on paper. Arranged by senior curator Diana Freundl, A Room of Her Own gives particular attention to major acquisitions of Carr’s work and the gallery’s efforts to maintain and preserve them over the years.

The exhibition also explores the major role the Carr collection played in the expansion of the gallery’s original building as well as the relocation to its present building in 1983. These events are contextualized alongside the gallery’s current consideration of how Carr’s work might be exhibited when the gallery moves to its new location.

While the new Vancouver Art Gallery is roughly five years away from opening its doors to the public, the institution’s curatorial team has already begun planning the inaugural exhibitions, which will amount to a doubling of its current exhibition space. A Room of Her Own encourages visitors to voice their opinions via a survey on the gallery’s mobile guide, which poses the question: “Should Emily Carr have her own room in the new Vancouver Art Gallery?”

Vancouver Art Gallery CEO and executive director Anthony Kiendl expressed his enthusiasm for the possibilities afforded by additional exhibition space, stating, “This exhibition underscores the need for our new Vancouver Art Gallery building, which will provide more space for permanent displays from our robust collection."

Historical figures such as Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo, among others, have entire museums devoted to their legacies. Several art museums in Canada feature dedicated exhibition spaces for works by the famed Group of Seven. As one of the foremost figures in Canadian art history, any art lover would argue that Carr's work deserves to be appropriately displayed at an institution, ideally, one with global recognition.

There are multiple proposals on how and where best to present the work and life of Emily Carr in the new gallery building, but one fact remains: there is a strong demand for her work to be on permanent display both now and in the future. Staff at the gallery report that the public frequently requests more exhibitions featuring Carr’s work.

In a room of her own or otherwise, Emily Carr continues to captivate new generations of artists, scholars, students and admirers from around the world. From now through Sept. 8, 2024, the Vancouver Art Gallery is the destination for audiences to immerse themselves in the fascinating story of Emily Carr, one of Canada’s most beloved artists.