PHOTO ESSAY

Regarding Emily

Taking a fresh look at Emily Carr

By Rachel Giese
June 6, 2006

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Vancouver Art Gallery, Emily Carr Trust. Courtesy National Gallery of Canada.

Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky (1935)
oil on canvas, 112 × 68.9 cm

Carr had been raised a Christian and remained devout, if a little unconventional, in her faith; she didn’t really approve of regular church attendance. Lawren Harris introduced her to Theosophy, a then-faddish philosophy that embraced the idea of “a universal life force.” While never a convert to Theosophy, Carr was struck by the connection between her art and her spirituality. Another example of her freer, more open landscapes, this work also has a spiritual, anthropomorphic quality.