The Group of Seven to Takao Tanabe...Inspiring landscape

This exhibition presents the work of artists who taught landscape art in Banff, beginning with a member of the Group of Seven and culminating with Takao Tanabe.

Many great Canadian landscape artists taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, now The Banff Centre, from the 1930s to the 1980s. From A. Y. Jackson to Takao Tanabe, all of the artists who taught here were inspired by the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains of Alberta. They, in turn, inspired the work of their students, contemporaries and followers.

This exhibition presents the work of artists who taught landscape art in Banff, beginning with a member of the Group of Seven and culminating with Takao Tanabe, but also including examples from other long-serving instructors such as A. C. Leighton, Walter J. Phillips and H. G. Glyde. Some came only briefly, but others spent a major part of their careers at the Banff School of Fine Arts.

At one end of the spectrum was A. Y. Jackson, who spent many seasons teaching in Banff in the 1940s, capturing the spirit of the prairies and mountains alike. At the other end, was Takao Tanabe who turned to the plains for his greatest inspiration, and it was during his time in Banff (1973-1980) that he embarked on his innovative series The Land.

Medium: Museum Exhibit, Painting