Published to coincide with the first significant exhibition organized by the Gallery on the work of Emily Carr in more than two decades, That Green Ideal offers a fresh, contemporary perspective on the iconic Canadian modernist.
The centrepiece of the book is an extensive, scholarly essay by Dr. Richard Hill that expands on his investigation into Carr’s depiction of the forest first explored in the exhibition Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape (2025–26). In this rigorous appraisal—featuring original, primary source research—Dr. Hill explores the artist’s obsession with the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, using close analysis of her paintings and writings to investigate how she understood nature and her relationship to it. His essay argues that Carr’s landscapes exist at the intersection between an experience of nature and an idea about how to transmit that experience through a painting, with the goal of expressing a divine essence in nature. It teases out the tension between individual and local references and the larger ideas and philosophies about nature in Western cultural traditions. This will be the first essay by Dr. Hill published by the Gallery since he joined the Curatorial team in 2022 and reflects our commitment to supporting and publishing new scholarship on our collection.
Publisher: Vancouver Art Gallery
Contributor: Dr. Richard Hill
280 x 200 mm
192 pages
Delivery Date: May 2026