Travelling Art Exhibition

Heather Smith, Curatorial Director, is looking for expressions of interest in a travelling exhibition of large watercolour paintings done by Campbell Tinning during a trip to Newfoundland in the summer of 1949. Newfoundland joined confederation earlier that year and Tinning, a young artist fresh from his success as an official War Artist, was fascinated by Canada’s newest province.

Campbell Tinning was born in Saskatoon SK in 1910 and studied art at Regina College and at the Art Students League in NY. After serving as a War Artist, primarily in Italy in 1944/45, he settled in Montreal. His work was included in numerous group and solo exhibitions. He died in Montreal in 1996.

This exhibition will include all of the 15 large watercolours Tinning completed in 1949. They are 28' x 36' framed and the exhibition will fit in 150 to 200 running feet. The exhibition fee will be kept as low as possible and the shipping will be pro-rated. The show will tour from 2009 to 2011, however, because the work is watercolour we will limit the number of venues. The exhibition will include other examples of Tinning’s art work (views of his studio, a self portrait etc.) to better contextualize the Newfoundland series. Text panels with photographs will illuminate Tinning’s background, his War Artist experience, and artistic influences.

There will be a colour publication with a curatorial essay and also an essay by Dr. Jeff Webb, a professor at Memorial University who specializes in 1940's Newfoundland history. Tinning wrote an article in 1950 about this series of paintings that seems to reflect the ideas of a small counterculture movement to preserve "authentic pre-modern, Newfoundland culture" as opposed to Newfoundlanders' choosing to embrace modernity and technology in the immediate post war period through the confederation debate. These exhibition essays will explore these themes and ideas.

All we need at this time is an expression of interest in this exhibition - so if you think your institution may be interested in hosting this exhibition please contact Heather Smith, Curatorial Director, Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, Crescent Park, Moose Jaw SK S6H 1E6, Phone 306.692.4471, Fax 306.694.8016, website http://www.mjmag.ca, E-mail mjamchin@sasktel.net.