Canoe: A Collection of Canadian Art

A tribute to the iconic watercraft—an enduring symbol of national identity—as depicted through 200 years of Canadian art.

With its origins in commerce and Indigenous culture, and its status as a modern cultural emblem, the canoe serves as a link between Canada’s rugged history and its contemporary character. Its humble and elegant form has long inspired artists to illustrate its journeys through waterways past and present, building a rich visual archive of the role the canoe played in shaping our nation and defining our spirit.

The McCreath Canoe Collection, catalogued in this beautifully designed volume, spans 200 years of artistic output, encompassing 90 works from all provinces and territories (except the Yukon Territory) and covering all three Canadian coasts. Canoe showcases paintings, sculpture, prints, carvings, glass, ceramics, and birch bark canoes by 50 historical and contemporary artists, including such luminaries as Alex Colville, David Milne, Cornelius Krieghoff, Frances Anne Hopkins, Ernest Lindner, Illingworth Kerr, and Walter Phillips. Each full-colour image is accompanied by thoughtful commentary about the work and artist.

Canoe celebrates the vessel that has come to occupy a unique and shifting place in our national imagination, and that persists as a symbol of artistic inspiration and environmental connection.

Selected works from the McCreath collection will be exhibited at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario in 2026–27.