David Milne at the Art Gallery of Ontario

We visited the David Milne watercolour exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario this afternoon. First, I sure didn't expect we'd be paying 12 canadianos each to see it, given that the AGO is under construction and needs all the visitors it can get right now. Fortunately, there were some really strong works in the show. Some of the paintings from 1917, like the Mountains (Catskills III) and Sunburst over the Catskills, were knockouts, as were some of the works done in Europe in 1919. Montreal Crater, Vimy Ridge, done on two sheets side by side was and is an outstanding painting, although, I would be happier about it still if he lost the goofy little figures on the horizon. In the same year, he painted Wrecked Tanks outside Moonchy-le-Preux, which stopped me in my tracks.

I learned a few things about painting at this show, and that was worth the price of admission. There were some bad paintings there too, which I guess are OK from an historical perspective. For instance, Glass Candlestick and Flowers and Candlesticks are howlers in my books. However, Milne seemed to get it together again for 4 wet watercolours in a series called Storm over the Islands, from 1951. Wow!