Art history contributes to our understanding of Canada's history. Urbanhistory, art history, and material history documented events as they unfurled. Demographic concentration, architecture, economics, and cultural aspects arewell documented in the above disciplines of history. Art itself is about people and their expressions of hope and meaning. Theirimpressions and thoughts are transported to their respective canvases. For themost part, these forms of history are less biassed and they tell the story as itactually was. A tour of the National Gallery showed that art comes in manyforms: landscape paintings, portraiture, carvings, sculptures, metal work,among others. Viewing the types of artwork and when they were produced, showedan evolution of various artists' styles as well as an evolution in the Canadianpeople. The early "aristocratic" settlers in Canada were mostly interested inDutch and European art and not Canadian landscape paintings. It was perhapsliving in the dreary cold land which discouraged them to hang a rendering of iton their walls. In addition, early Canada had no actual "Canadian" artists ofany popularity. A new country would take years to produce such artisans. Portraiture captured the essence of the early peoples, whether European orAboriginal. Clothing, tools, jewellery and muskets attested to the Canadianlifestyle in the early days. Landscape art detailed the growth of civilisationaround the country. Development in housing, business, industry, and architecturecould be seen by comparing two paintings of the same area, though painted fiftyyears apart. Count the church steeples in the paintings to find an increase in1religious persuasions, thus identifying the influx and diversity of the settlers.The first settlers to Canada left behind many artefacts which help piecetogether the trials and tribulations of early settlement. These materials showa progress or evolution of a nation. The various possessio...
