Polish Footprint on Canadian Art

Abstract

Abstract Until the second half of the twentieth century, art in Canada meant painting, with other forms (sculpture, tapestry, ceramics, etc.) being marginalized, relegated to a kind of second-class display. Their creators were stylized, not as artists but more pejoratively as artisans—people who executed a useful trade. European immigrants changed this parochial view. They brought with them the European perspective, that inspiration and genius can be found in a wide range of creative endeavor, and they patiently imposed this perspective on Canada. This article describes the contributions of some of these people, the Polish immigrant artists of the last decades of the twentieth century.