Description
The 2017 painting Quebec by Adam Miller represents over four hundred years of Quebec history. Featuring recognizable Quebec and Canadian politicians, ordinary characters, and allegorical figures, this unusual work visualizes many of the debates surrounding the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation as well as the 375th anniversary Montreal's founding. Bringing together a collection of commentaries on the painting and its artist, this volume contemplates the Quebec and Canadian experience and the bonds that link art and history. Included within are a reproduction of the painting, assorted detail shots, a key to the figures represented, and preparatory drawings used for the final work. Furthermore, essays by art historians François-Marc Gagnon, Donald Kuspit, and Alexandre Turgeon reflect on the painting and its style, as well as on its representation of history in relation to questions of politics, art, and collective memory. The book also contains an interview with Adam Miller conducted by Clarence Epstein, which reveals the sources of inspiration for the piece and the artist's creative process. A preface by the patron who commissioned the painting, Salvatore Guerrera, rounds out the contributions. Adam Miller is a painter known for his polished neo-classical figurative style that dramatizes historical subject matter and themes of social justice. He lives in New York.
About the authors
Clarence Epstein est directeur administratif de la Fondation Max et Iris Stern et a publié de nombreux écrits concernant l'architecture de Montréal et ses collections d'œuvres d'art.
Clarence Epstein's profile page
Francois-Marc Gagnon is a professor in teh Department of Art History at the Universite de Montreal, where he has taught since 1966. His career has included teaching appointments at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Montreal, Universite Laval, Concordia University, and the Universities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. He received the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction for his book Paul-Emile Borduas and is a Member of the Order of Canada.
François-Marc Gagnon's profile page
Donald Kuspit is an art critic and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of art history and philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Alexandre Turgeon is a post-doctoral scholar and instructor in the department of history at the University of Ottawa.
