Rebecca Basciano

This publication is the first-ever monograph on artist Frances-Anne Johnston, one of Canada's foremost painters of still lifes, flowers, and interiors. Exploring the extensive artistic career of this under-represented artist, the book also situates her within 20th-century Canadian art history and feminist theoretical contexts. In addition to beautiful colour illustrations of Johnston's work, this volume features critical essays, and an extensive exhibition history.Through primary research, curator Rebecca Basciano interprets Johnston's mastery of technique and subject matter, while demonstrating the artist's unique aesthetic and skill through an exploration of several important artworks. Similarly, art historian and scholar Catharine Mastin, in her ongoing investigation of Canadian "artist couples," exposes the challenges faced by women artists -- including Johnston -- who often juggled their own artistic practices with the demands of child-rearing and supporting their husbands' careers.Finally, as a critical aspect of this reclamation work, Frances-Anne Johnston's own voice is revealed in a republished article that she wrote in 1955 for Mayfair. Together, these insightful essays constitute a feminist recovery project by not only situating Johnston among her male contemporaries, but also by creating new space for the appreciation and validation of a practice that was shaped by domestic realities, including motherhood.

With the inauguration of the Ottawa Art Gallery’s new building in the fall of 2017, the exhibition Àdisòkàmagan / Nous connaître un peu nous memes / We’ll all become stories launches as the definitive showcase of the artistic practices of the Ottawa Valley and the Outaouais region. This gorgeous companion catalogue draws together a broad selection of curators, artists, writers, art historians and community members to generate the most extensive and multilayered exploration of the region’s art history and contemporary production to date. We’ll all become stories provides an authoritative platform for not only the artistic practices of the national capital region, but also the geography, commerce, institutions and individuals that have shaped this cultural production. The project fills an information gap by addressing the historical and contemporary details of this currently under-researched and under-documented art scene. It captures the ever-changing perspectives of artists by situating the region’s visual culture in relation to its multiple histories. While this story certainly considers ideas that have galvanized the area’s artists since Confederation, it also explores the substantial artistic contributions of the Indigenous peoples of this region—namely the Anishinabe First Nations—both before and after this colonial marker. As such, the story is told from diverse perspectives, inclusive to the interests and histories of those who are or have been marginalized or hidden from view. Featuring 30 thematic sections written by guest authors as well as the exhibition curators (Rebecca Basciano, Jim Burant, Michelle Gewurtz and Catherine Sinclair), We’ll all become stories contains an illustrated chronological timeline and over 150 stunning colour images of works across multiple media including paintings, prints, textiles, photography, fine craft, film, performance and conceptual installations. This bilingual English and French volume offers some Anishinabeg translation and provides a unique lens through which to view the nation’s capital in this 150th year since Confederation. A lush and unprecedented tome, it is sure to be treasured by readers across the nation.