About —
A collector and his passion
Introducing an exceptional gift in trust to all Canadians from Mr. A. K. Prakash, this exhibition explores the intricate relationship between one of Canada’s most discerning collectors and his artist of choice, the internationally acclaimed Canadian artist, J. W. Morrice. Organized geographically, it follows in the foot- steps of Morrice from his early years as an expatriate artist in Paris through his numerous sketching trips around France, Italy, North Africa and the West Indies, to his annual trips home to Canada. It celebrates both Morrice’s vital role in advancing modern artistic trends in Canada and A. K. Prakash’s passionate commitment to understand, celebrate and preserve his legacy for all Canadians.
This exhibition is curated by Katerina Atanassova, Senior Curator, Canadian Art, at the National Gallery of Canada.
Works in the banner:
James Wilson Morrice, The Regatta, c. 1902-1907. Gift of A. K. Prakash, J. W. Morrice Collection, 2015, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (46630). Photo: NGC / MBAC
James Wilson Morrice, Havre, 1909. Gift of A.K. Prakash, J. W. Morrice Collection, 2015, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (46628). View of the exhibition at the Musée d’art de Joliette. Photo: Romain Guilbault, 2019
James Wilson Morrice, Canal in Venice, c. 1898-1900. Prakash, J. W. Morrice Collection, 2015, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (46630). Photo: NGC / MBAC
View of the exhibition at the Musée d’art de Joliette, 2019. Photo: Romain Guilbault
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada.
Presented with the exceptional support of the A.K. Prakash Foundation, the Donald R. Sobey Family Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.
Supported by the Government of Canada.
Biography —
Montreal-born J.W. Morrice (1865–1924) studied law for several years before he departed for Paris at the end of the 1880s to pursue a career as an artist. While most other Canadian artists travelled abroad only for the duration of their training or during sketching trips, Morrice chose to settle in Paris permanently. He soon became the first Canadian artist to achieve an international reputation. He travelled extensively through Europe, North America, North Africa, and the West Indies – locations aptly represented in the A.K. Prakash, J.W. Morrice Collection – and worked alongside noted artists, including Maurice Cullen, William Brymner, Maurice Prendergast, Henri Matisse, William Glackens, and Robert Henri.
Morrice exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists, the Art Association of Montreal, and the Royal Canadian Academy, and with international societies such as the Société nationale des beaux-arts, the Société du Salon d’automne, the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, and the Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français, among others. His work is today in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon, Les Arts Décoratifs, The Hermitage, The Tate, the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, the Barnes Foundation, and the Delaware Art Museum. Morrice continues to be one of Canada’s most celebrated modernist painters.