Focus Series

The Focus Series is an ongoing partnership between Library and Archives Canada and the National Gallery of Canada, building on the rich collections of both institutions.

Focus on the Métis — A103 Corridor and A103a
A special collaboration that examines how early images of the Métis are often misidentified or not referenced at all. A careful look at details in historical art and photographs reveals that the Métis are often “hiding in plain sight.”

Pictorialism — A104a
The predominant aesthetic in photography throughout the first half of the twentieth century was pictorialism.

Work is art/Art is work — A109a
This installation examines the various ways artists responded to the critical issues of the Depression era.

Points of View: Photography in the North — A111a
Documentary photographer Pamela Harris recorded community life in Taloyoak, Nunavut (then Spence Bay, NWT) for three months in 1972 and 1973 (published as Another Way of Being). Her photographs appear both casual and staged, the resulting photographic sessions respectfully engaging two cultures and important considerations such as the agency and self-representation of Inuit.

View the floorplan