To Prince Edward Island is a 1965 acrylic on Masonite painting by Alex Colville. One of his most well-known paintings, it is held at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
| To Prince Edward Island | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Alex Colville |
| Year | 1965 |
| Medium | Acrylic on Masonite |
| Dimensions | 61.9 cm × 92.5 cm (24.4 in × 36.4 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |
To Prince Edward Island was showcased in November 1965 at the fine arts exhibit at the Atlantic Winter Fair in Halifax, Nova Scotia, while he was living in Sackville, New Brunswick. At the time, the painting was listed for CA$6,000 (equivalent to CA$56,107 in 2023). It won first place in the fair's "media other than oil, watercolor or pastel" category.[1]
Description
editTo Prince Edward Island depicts a woman on the top deck of a ferry[2] crossing the Northumberland Strait between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.[1][3] The woman subject, of whom Colville's wife Rhoda Wright depicts,[4] is facing directly towards the viewer. The woman is looking through a pair of binoculars. A man, whose face is covered by her, is sitting behind her.[2]
Background
editThe painting is set on the original MV Abegweit,[5] a passenger ferry which crossed the Abegweit Passage in the Northumberland Strait from 1947 to 1982, connecting New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island through Port Borden and Cape Tormentine. The Abegweit was then succeeded by a larger vessel of the same name until the completion of the Confederation Bridge connected the two provinces in 1997.[6][7]
During an interview with Colville when he was living in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, he explained that he had come up with the idea for the painting from when him and his wife were in Charlottetown, adding that he "had actually done various [drawings] over the years of a woman looking through binoculars and a man kind of lounging at her side," and "the ferry seemed the perfect setting for it".[5]
Influence and legacy
editTo Prince Edward Island has been attributed as being one of Colville's most well-known artworks.[8] It was purchased by and is held by the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa,[5][8] and influenced American filmmaker Wes Anderson, who restaged it in a scene of his 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom.[9] The painting is also referenced in the 2017 photographic-video work Long View by Korean-Canadian artist Jin-me Yoon, specifically in Long View 1, a photograph in which Yoon is looking out through binoculars.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "N.B. Artist Wins Acclaim". Saint John Times Globe. The Canadian Press. November 5, 1965. p. 7. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Cronin, Ray. "Alex Colville, To Prince Edward Island, 1965". Art Canada Institute.
- ^ Allen, Rod (April 6, 2006). "Dominic LeBlanc finds his own voice in Ottawa". Times & Transcript. p. A11. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian painter Alex Colville dies". CBC News. July 16, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c Simpson, Peter (May 31, 1997). "Ferry tales". Telegraph-Journal. p. 66. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ "Abegweit captain likes 'his' vessel". Times & Transcript. February 25, 1987. p. 20. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Petersen, Krista (August 11, 1997). "Marine Atlantic ferries not sailing". Times & Transcript. p. 5. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Mahoney, Jill (July 17, 2013). "An appreciation: What made Alex Colville's work so unique?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Bethune, Brian (August 22, 2014). "Unpacking the real Alex Colville". Maclean's. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Tiampo, Ming (2022). Jin-me Yoon: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute. ISBN 978-1-4871-0297-5.